SAN FRANCISCO, Calif.—Maleni Avalos scored in the opening moments of Hawai`i Hilo's Thursday afternoon match at Academy of Art, and as it turned out that would be all that the Vulcans would need during a 1-0 victory at Paul Goode Field.

The road victory improved UH Hilo's overall record to 5-1-2, and they are now 2-0-1 in the Pacific West Conference. It was also their fourth win in a row, and they are tied for second place in the conference in terms of points (six).

Academy of Art fell to 6-5 on the season and to 1-4 in conference play.

The Vulcans started the offensive pressure early in this one, with a pair of corner kicks virtually right out of the gate. On the second corner, Tiera Arakawa's pass came to Lucy Maino, who headed the ball off the Urban Knight keeper Morgan Wirz. But the rebound came right back to Avalos, who finished the tally with a score into the middle of the goal.

It was the first goal of the year for Avalos, a senior from nearby Santa Rosa. It was also Maino's first assist.

The Vulcans continued the pressure, but couldn't find the net again before intermission despite firing 14 shots, six of them on goal. The Urban Knights had just three shots at the half, two of them saved by Bailey Cahill.

The home team was much more aggressive in the second half with nine shots, but only one of them had to be saved by Cahill. The Vulcans had four more shots, two of them saved.

Both teams missed penalty kicks. UH Hilo had an opportunity right before the break, but the shot by Arakawa went wide. Early in the second half, AAU fired one but it was saved by Cahill. The junior keeper, also from Santa Rosa, picked up her fourth shutout of the season. In eight matches this year, UH Hilo has allowed a total of four scores.

UH Hilo finished with 18 shots on the afternoon (eight on goal), while the Urban Knights had 12, three of them saved. There were 18 fouls on the Vulcans in the physical match, ten on AAU. There were four yellow cards on UHH, two on Academy of Art. Red cards were also given to Carlie Reader and Piper Collado, who will now have to sit out Saturday contest.

Saturday's match at Holy Names in Oakland is set for 1:30 pm (10:30 am Hawaii time).