WOMEN'S SOCCER WEEKLY
UH Hilo Overall Record: 7-2-2                        UHH PacWest Record: 4-1-1

PacWest Title on Line? Vulcans Host Sharks, Sea Lions—Paiea Stadium, Keaau
Saturday, Oct. 20, 3 p.m. vs Hawai`i Pacific (4-4-4 overall \ 2-1-2 PacWest
Monday, Oct. 22, 7 p.m. vs. Point Loma (10-1-1 overall / 5-0-1 PacWest)
(Link to Live Stats for all matches available at www.hiloathletics.com)
 
Hilo Headlines: The Vulcans wrap up the home portion of their 2018 schedule with matches against Hawaii Pacific and Point Loma this Saturday and Monday. The second-place Vulcans, tied with Biola at 4-1-1, will face a good Hawaii Pacific team and first-place Point Loma.

Sack the Sharks: On Saturday, the first 50 fans through the gate will receive a free UH Hilo Vulcan reusable grocery sack.

Wait, There's More: In addition, from here on and forever more, all UH Hilo and Hawaii Community College students will receive free admission to any Vulcan athletic event. Just bring your valid ID card, show it at the door, and you are in!!

Senior Salute: The Vulcans will honor 12 seniors after Monday's match against Point Loma for their contribution to UH Hilo athletics. Remember, the match starts at 7 p.m., with no men's match prior. The 12 seniors are Bryana-Marie Ebbers, Jaimie Salas, Leighana Weaver, Callye Lahmann, Danika Steele, Lucy Maino, Clarissa Guerrero, Carlie Reader, Dior Motas and Meghan Langbehn, Tiera Arakawa and Maleni Avalos.

Regional Ratings: The first official NCAA West Region rankings are out, and the Vulcans are just on the outside looking in. There will be three more ratings before the regular season ends, and the final rating will be used to help determine the NCAA tournament field. The champion from the PacWest, the CCAA and the GNAC will automatically qualify, followed by the next four teams in the rating system—so seven total squads in the West Region. Here is the Oct. 17 list…(1) UC San Diego 11-1-1, (2) Concordia Portland 10-0-2, (3) Western Washington 10-2-1, (4) Chico State 8-0-4, (5) Sonoma State 9-2-3, (6) Point Loma 10-1-1, (7) Cal State LA 8-3-2, (8) Seattle Pacific 8-4-1, (9) Simon Fraser 7-3-1, (10) Cal State San Marcos, (11) UH Hilo 7-2-2. The Vulcans, after their victory over Biola, would unofficially move up into the tenth spot, based on Performance Indicator points.

One Stumble: The Vulcans have won six of their last seven matches, with the one stumble coming in an improbable way last week against Concordia. UH Hilo was 25 seconds away from wrapping up a 1-0 victory over the Eagles, when Concordia's Isabella Angotti-Jones launched a free kick from about 30 yards out that found the net to send the match into overtime. In the second extra period, she did it again, this time from further out to stun the Vulcans and end their five-match win streak.

Grounding different Eagles: A few days later, the Vulcans took out the guess work by scoring twice in the first 15 minutes to defeat Biola (2-0). That win allowed UH Hilo to move into a second-place tie with the Eagles, both teams at 4-1-1. Jaimie Salas and Lucy Maino scored goals, and the defense did the rest as the Vulcans shut out an opponent for the fifth time this season.

Scoring is Optional: In their 11 matches so far in 2018, the Vulcans have scored just 15 goals. Of course, the good news is that they have only given up seven. Everyone else in the PacWest has given up at least 12 goals, with the exception of defensive minded Point Loma, who has allowed just three scores in 12 matches.

Maino's Main Job: Senior defender Lucy Maino's main job is to help keep the other team away from the goal, a job she and her teammates have performed to excellent reviews this year. But Maino also had found another niche—scoring goals on set pieces, and now just scoring goals, period. She scored twice in UH Hilo's 3-1 win over Holy Names, and had the UHH assist in the 1-0 victory over the Urban Knights. She scored again on a long blast against Biola, and now has four goals on the season, two of them on headers. She leads the team in scoring with a total of nine points.

The Buck Stops Here: UH Hilo has given up just seven goals in 11 matches, which includes 40 minutes of overtime in addition to regulation play. Junior goalkeeper Bailey Cahill has a 0.59 Goals Against Average, second in the PacWest. She has 35 saves and five shutouts. Cahill, a transfer from Santa Rosa JC, is on pace to challenge for the UHH school record in single season GAA, where she is currently tied with Randi Walters (2008), who finished the year with an identical 0.59 GAA.

Tiera's Climb: Senior Tiera Arakawa has two goals and four assists in 2018 for a total of eight points. That also gives the four-year veteran from Maui ten career goals and five assists, for 25 points. That puts her tied for seventh on UH Hilo's all-time list, just behind sixth place Kelly White (26). UH Hilo's all-time leading scorer is Kristine Pasek (2011-14) with 53 points. Arakawa's ten goals ties her for sixth in that category with Alyssa Salvador (2008-09), with Pasek the all-time leader at 25.

Last Minute Deals: Four of the seven goals that the Vulcans have given up this year came as last-minute surprises. In the season opener against Eckerd (Fla.), the Tritons tied the match at 1-1 by scoring a goal with just 50 seconds remaining in regulation—sending the match to overtime and an eventual 1-1 tie. Against UC San Diego, the opponent scored with TWO seconds left in the first half which proved to be enough for a 1-0 win. Against Concordia, the Eagles scored with 25 seconds left in regulation, and then tallied the winning score in the second overtime.

Tough Customer: The Vulcans' 1-0 loss to UC San Diego, their first loss of the season, is a moral victory of sorts now, considering that the Tritons are now 11-1-1 on the year, have been ranked No. 1 in the country, and is currently the top listed team in the West Region.

Sharks and Sea Lions: Saturday's opponent Hawaii Pacific is a dangerous squad, having tied UC San Diego this year (then ranked No. 2 nationally), and they also tied then unbeaten (PWC) Biola. Tehani Furuta has four goals to lead HPU, and Lauren Spencer has a 0.89 GAA. UH Hilo topped the Sharks 1-0 in a non-conference match earlier this year, but HPU leads the all-time series, 11-9-5. Hawaii Pacific will play Point Loma on Thursday before arriving on the Big Island. Point Loma has just one loss on the year, a 2-1 setback in their season opener to nationally ranked Western Washington. After that loss, they reeled off ten straight wins, allowing only ONE goal in the process. In fact, they have given up just three goals all season, and their 83 percent shutout acumen is tops in the NCAA. Goalkeeper Emma Hinson's 0.24 GAA ranks third in the country and her nine shutouts is tops in the PacWest. Offensively, Julia Glaser leads the conference with 10 goals, and she also has two assists for a total of 22 points. The Sea Lions won the match-up versus the Vulcans last year in San Diego (1-0), and PLNU leads the all-time series between the two squads, 6-1. UH Hilo's one win was two years ago in Keaau.

Around the Loop: Point Loma had their ten-match winning streak snapped during a tie with Dominican, but they still lead the PacWest with a 5-0-1 mark. UH Hilo and Biola are next at 4-1-1, with Azusa Pacific close behind at 3-1-1.

What's Next: After Senior Day on Monday, the Vulcans will hit the road for their final three regulation matches of the year—at Dominican (Oct. 29), Notre Dame de Namur (Nov. 1) and Fresno Pacific (Nov. 3).

The Coach: Gene Okamura enters into his third season as the leader of the women's soccer program at UH Hilo in 2018, after also leading the men's team for two years. The former Vulcan player and UH Hilo graduate served three seasons as an assistant prior to getting the director's job, and was also the head coach at Kamehameha School, where his team finished second in the HHSAA State Championships in 2015-16. The local product (Waiakea HS) is the Director of Coaching for Hawaii Big Rush and Haaheo Soccer Clubs. He now has a career record with the UH Hilo women's team of 19-18-7.