SAN FRANCISCO, Calif.—In a battle of two teams very hungry to get into the Pacific West Conference win column, visiting Hawai`i Hilo won the testy battle on Thursday morning over Academy of Art at Paul Goode Field, 1-0.
Matt Wilkinson's score in the 86
th minute was the difference maker, giving the Vulcans and new head coach
Paul Regrutto a first PacWest win (1-2), and they improved overall to 2-6. Academy of Art falls to 1-7-1 on the season and 0-4-1 in conference play.
In a match that included two yellow cards on both teams, two red cards on the Vulcans and one on the Urban Knights, Wilkinson essentially ended the scrum after taking
Bradley Doyle's through ball at the corner of the box and depositing it past AAU keeper Kris Jensson into the right corner of net at 85:21.
The Urban Knights had one last opportunity on a corner kick with less than three minutes to play, but couldn't put together a shot on the set piece.
Both teams played the majority of the match with ten players, as AAU got their red card in the 29
th minute and the Vulcans received their first at 48:42. UHH's second red came at 85:42.
Academy of Art had plenty of opportunities earlier, creating more than the Vulcans.
The Urban Knights had 13 shots in the match, five of them saved by UH Hilo goalkeeper
Nick Williams. UH Hilo had six total shots, with two of them on goal.
For Williams, it was his second shutout of the season and he added to his PacWest leading save total, now at 51. For Wilkinson, it was his fifth goal of the year.
But Wilkinson won't score on Saturday when the Vulcans take on Holy Names to wrap up this brief two-match road trip. He received his fifth yellow card of the season in the fourth minute of the first half, meaning he is out for the match against the Hawks. Same for red card recipients
Jorge Martinez and
Robert George, who must also sit out the Holy Names contest.
Saturday's match at Holy Names in Oakland is set for 11 am (8 am Hawaii time). Going into HNU's match with Fresno Pacific this afternoon (Thursday), the Hawks are 2-5-1 on the season and 1-0 in the PacWest.
