From
left are Sacramento State Women’s Soccer assistant coach Chris Malenab, head
coach Randy Dedini and Joey “Uncle” Lum, the director of soccer operations.
Photo courtesy of Sacramento State Athletics

SACRAMENTO
REGION, CA (MPG) – Reigning Big Sky Conference Tournament champion, California State
University, Sacramento women’s soccer team added six more new faces to its
roster for the upcoming fall campaign, gaining four transfers and a pair of
standout freshman to the fold, head coach Randy Dedini recently announced.

“We’re
thrilled to welcome six new additions to our program coming off of our Big Sky
championship season in 2024,” Dedini said. “These talented student-athletes
bring skill, drive and passion to our roster and we’re confident that they’ll
play key roles in helping us chase another conference title this fall.”

The
quartet of transfers is midfielder Lakshmi Vallabhaneni from Sonoma State, a
pair of local junior college All-Americans in Hope Martin-Northrup and Tea
Reyes from nearby Folsom Lake College, and high-scoring forward Shawna Larson
from Peninsula College in Washington. The incoming freshman duo of Sia
Bharadwaj (San Ramon, Monte Vista High School) and Elyse McGinnis (Fort
Collins, Colorado/Fort Collins High School) round out the group.

Brief
bios on the six newcomers are included later in this article.

This
group joins the four high school student-athletes who committed to the program in
November, bringing the number of newcomers to the program to 10. That
collection of new faces are midfielder Bailey Fuller (Loomis/Del Oro High
School), defender Ella Hershey (Folsom/Folsom High School), forward Aryana
Martinez (Rancho Cucamonga/Rancho Cucamonga High School) and goalkeeper Cynthia
Waller (Chicago, Illinois/ Lane Tech High School). 

Sacramento
State wrapped up its storybook 2024 season with an appearance in the
National Collegiate Athletics Association Tournament against the University of
Southern California, falling to the Trojans in the first round. The Hornets
finished 5-7-9 overall on the season, setting a new school record for draws in
the process, while claiming its third Big Sky Tournament title and the National
Collegiate Athletics Association Tournament postseason berth for the third time
in the program’s history.

At
the end of the regular season, five Sacramento State players were named to the
All-Big Sky team while six student-athletes were named to the Big Sky
All-Tournament team, including gaining the MVP, following the Hornets’ run of
penalty kick victories over No. 4-seeded Northern Arizona, No. 1 Montana and
No. 2 Idaho.

Bharadwaj
was a two-year varsity letter winner at Monte Vista High School, helped the
Mustangs to a Collegiate Interscholastic Federation North Coast Section title
as a senior, finished her final prep season with eight goals and three assists,
including a hat trick against Livermore High School. She was a California
Interscholastic Federation section Scholar-Athlete in 2022 and 2025, played
club soccer for the Bay Area Surf ECNL in San Jose for four years, helping her
club to three ECNL NorCal Conference championships. Bharadwaj started a
nonprofit organization, Kicks and Goals (kicksandgoals.org), dedicated to
promoting diversity and inclusion in the sport.

Larson
was the Northwest Athletic Conference Player of the Year and was a
first-team all-conference selection as a sophomore in 2024. Her career goal
total of 31 and her 17 career assists both rank fifth on the school’s all-time
list and her 79 career points are fourth on the school’s list. Larson led the
Northwest Athletic Conference in goals, assists and points as a sophomore. She
was a first-team All-Northwest Athletic Conference selection as a freshman in
2023, scoring 18 goals and 44 points. Her 18 goals are the third-most by a
freshman in school history.

Martin-Northrup
helped Folsom Lake college to its second straight California Community College
Athletic Association state title and a Big 8 Conference crown in 2024. She was
United Soccer Coaches Junior College Division III National Player of the Year
and a first-team All-American who also earned first-team All-West Region
honors. Martin-Northrup was the California Community Colleges Athletic
Association’s North All-Region and all-state honoree and was named the Big 8
Conference Defender of the Year, in addition to being the state tournament’s most
outstanding player. Martin-Northrup was part of a defense that posted 19
shutouts en route to a 23-1-2 overall record and a 9-1-1 mark in Big 8
Conference play. She finished with four goals and eight points, putting five of
her seven shots on the year on goal and began her career at San Jose State in
2023, appearing in nine matches

McGinnis
was a three-time All-Northern Colorado 5A selection in soccer, including
first-team honors twice in 2023 and 2025. She accumulated 27 goals and 14
assists in 42 matches in her prep career and as a senior, finished with 10
goals and four assists for 24 points in 14 matches, including a four-goal
performance against Greeley West High School. McGinnis added seven goals and
five assists as a sophomore and 10 more goals to go with five helpers as a
freshman. She was also a standout member of the Lambkins’ track and field team
in the 400m and 800m as well as a pair of relay teams.

Reyes
helped Folsom Lake College to a pair of California Community College Athletic
Association state titles in 2023 and 2024. She was United Soccer Coaches
second-team All-American, second-team All-West Region selection, Big 8
Conference Attacker of the Year, California Community College Athletic
Association All-State selection as a sophomore. Reyes finished with 21 goals
and nine assists for 51 points, including six game-winners. She was United
Soccer Coaches All-American and All-West Region selection as a freshman,
scoring nine goals and 11 assists.

Vallabhaneni
attended Sonoma State but did not appear in a match for the Seawolves in 2024.
She scored five goals and added an assist as a sophomore at Cosumnes River in
2022 while starting all 22 matches for the Hawks. Five goals were tied for
third on the team while ranking fourth on the squad with 11 points. She finished
with a pair of goals and two assists as a freshman at Cosumnes River College in
2021, starting 20 matches. Vallabhaneni earned a spot on the Big 8 Conference
All-Tournament Team twice and earned all-conference honors as a sophomore.