In year three of the University of Hawaii at Hilo men's soccer program, first-year coach Cam Camarena turned the corner in leading the Vulcans to an 11-5-2 overall record and a 4th place finish in a tough Pacific West Conference with a 6-4-2 record.

Continuing to build upon the team's laurels, Camarena set out to change direction with a recruiting class that brought balance to the program.

"We played a 3-5-2 last year because we weren't deep on defense," said Camarena. "This year we'll go to a 4-4-2. We're definitely stronger in the back with a lot of experience. We'll play a lot of possessions, switching of the ball and put a lot of pressure on the ball.

"We're going to make teams give us the ball rather that them forcing us to give up the ball."

The defense is anchored by pre-season all-conference goalie Ivan Mercado [Paramount, CA/Century] and junior Dane Kaylor [Huntington Beach, CA/Edison].

"Ivan came in late last year and we really didn't have a preseason with him," said Camarena. "This year he is playing out of his mind. I definitely see him being the goalkeeper of the year.

"Dane has really improved and could step in and be just as good as Ivan."

[[i:1278:n:l]]The defensive wall returns Jeremy Gwerder [Enumclaw, WA/Enumclaw], Daniel Jacob [Yorba Linda, CA/El Dorado] and Luis Segovia [Whittier, CA/California]. They will be joined by newcomers Jeremy Adams [Rough and Ready, CA/Nevada Union], Eduardo Ayala [Oxnard, CA/Rio Mesa], Jaaziel Garcia [Los Angeles, CA/Schurr], Nate Muraki [Anaheim Hills, CA/Villa Park], Alex Shaw [Yorba Linda, CA/Valencia] and Jose Vasquez [Oxnard, CA/Hueneme].

The midfield got a boost with six new players – Cameron Castillo [Mountain View, HI/Kamehameha-Hawaii], Go Eto [Rancho Palos Verdes, CA/Rancho Palos Verdes], Eduardo Gutierrez [Azusa, CA/Azusa], Vincent Muscarella [Camarillo, CA/Newberry Park], Phillip Sakaba [Mililani, HI/Mililani] and Landon Salvador [Mililani, HI/Mililani]. Omar Garcia [Lynwood, CA/Lynwood], Gabriel Kallen-Brown [Fairbanks, AK/West Valley] and Logan Montenegro [Whittier, CA/Santa Fe] are the returnees.

Timothy Glick [Harrisonburg, VA/Turner Ashby], George Ichimaru [Volcano, HI/Waiakea] and Gene Okamura [Hilo, HI/Waiakea] are joined by newcomers Gary Diego [Las Vegas, NV/Silverado] and Roberto Valdez [Henderson, NV/Basic] in the forward positions.

"We are very deep this year," said Camarena. "We can bring in just about anybody without a drop in play.

"I don't think we're going to be a one-, two- or three-man show."

The season starts with a four-game road trip through Southern California – Cal State Los Angeles (Aug. 29), University of California San Diego (Aug. 31), Cal State San Bernardino (Sept. 2) and Westmont College (Sept. 5).

The Vulcans host this year's Hawaii Challenge Cup on September 11 and 12 at Amauulu Field before PacWest competition begins when they host Hawaii Pacific University (Sept. 19) and Brigham Young University-Hawaii (Sept. 26).

They hit the road for their next set of conference games – Chaminade (Oct. 3), Grand Canyon University (Oct. 8), Dixie State College (Oct. 10), Notre Dame de Namur University (Oct. 12) and Dominican University (Oct. 14).

Notre Dame de Namur (Oct. 22), Dixie State (Oct. 24), Grand Canyon (Oct. 26) and Academy of Art University (Oct. 30) are in Hilo to face the Vulcans.

The regular season ends with two games on Oahu – BYU-Hawaii (Nov. 3) and Hawaii Pacific (Nov. 5) – and the season finale against Chaminade (Nov. 7) in Hilo.

All home games are currently scheduled for Amauulu Field with the exception of September 26 against BYU-Hawaii. A site is yet to be determined.

The team will hold a scrimmage at 1 p.m. on Saturday, August 22 at Amauulu.