KEAAU, Hawai`i—In a match between two very good defensive teams, you knew the outcome was going to come down to one mistake, one free kick or penalty kick.
It did. Point Loma's Julia Glaser deposited a penalty kick in the 55
th minute, enough to edge host Hawai`i Hilo on Senior Night at Paiea Stadium in front of 275 fans. The road win allowed the first-place Sea Lions to remain there, at 8-0-1 in the Pacific West Conference and 13-1-1 overall.
UH Hilo falls to 4-3-1 in the PacWest and 7-4-2 on the year.
The first half was a demonstration of both teams' speed and defense. The Sea Lions, ranked No. 6 in the NCAA West Region, have only given up one goal in their last 13 matches. There were no free passes given tonight, although the Vulcans had two shots in the first eight minutes, but neither of them were clear.
It took 19 minutes for Point Loma to register their first shot, and at the break, the Sea Lions had only two shots (one on goal), while the Vulcans had three (two on goal).
Ten minutes into the second half, the scoreboard had its first and only entry. On a collision in the box between two UHH players and one PLNU, a foul was called on the Vulcans and the Sea Lions were awarded the penalty kick. Glaser was money, scoring for the 12
th time this season and for the third time on a PK.
Point Loma clamped down even more after that on the defensive end—although the Vulcans had a great opportunity on a corner kick in the 61
st minute.
Leighana Weaver got a good look on a header that inches from entering the net before it was nudged out by a Point Loma defender.
The final tally showed the Vulcans with five corner kicks, but with only four shots, two of them goal. Point Loma also finished with four shots, two on goal.
It was the final home match for 11 UH Hilo seniors—
Leighana Weaver,
Dior Motas,
Clarissa Guerrero,
Maleni Avalos,
Jaimie Salas,
Lucy Maino,
Callye Lahmann,
Carlie Reader,
Danika Steele and
Tiera Arakawa.
Meghan Langbehn, a three-year starter who was not able to play this year, was also honored.
The Vulcans will now hit the road for their final three matches of the 2018 season, beginning with an October 29 encounter at Dominican.
