WOMEN'S SOCCER WEEKLY
UH Hilo Overall Record: 6-1-2         UHH PacWest Record: 3-0-1

Teams of Eagles Await Vulcans This Week—Paiea Stadium, Keaau
Thursday, Oct. 11, 7 p.m. vs Concordia (3-5-1 overall \ 1-2 PacWest
Tuesday, Oct. 16, 7 p.m. vs. Biola (5-3-2 overall / 3-0 PacWest)
(Link to Live Stats for all matches available at www.hiloathletics.com)
 
Hilo Headlines: A four-match homestand begins this week for the red-hot Hawai`i Hilo Vulcans, who are now in second place in the Pacific West Conference standings. The Vulcans have won five straight matches to improve to 6-1-2 on the season and to 3-0-1 in the PacWest.

Think Pink: In collaboration with the NCAA, the Vulcans will honor the fight against breast cancer on Thursday night. All fans wearing pink will gain free admission. 

It's Been a Month: The Vulcans have won five straight and haven't lost in their last seven matches. The last time that they were on the losing side of the scoreboard was a month ago (Sept. 9) when they lost to UC San Diego 1-0—a team that was ranked No. 1 in the country last week.

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

Road Warriors: Last week, UH Hilo traveled from just south of Seattle (St. Martin's) and all the way to the San Francisco bay area (Academy of Art, Holy Names), picking up three victories along the way. The Vulcans edged the Saints (2-1), slipped by the Urban Knights (1-0) and topped the Hawks (3-1) to improve to 4-0-1 in road 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. 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 has three goals on the season, two on headers, and all three coming off corner kicks.

The Buck Stops Here: UH Hilo has given up just five goals in nine matches, which includes 40 minutes of overtime in addition to regulation play. Junior goalkeeper Bailey Cahill has a 0.53 Goals Against Average, second in the PacWest. She has 30 saves and four shutouts.

Tiera's Climb: Senior Tiera Arakawa now has two goals and four assists in 2018 to lead her team in scoring with eight total 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 leader 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 with 25.

Last Minute Deals: Two of the 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.

Tough Customer: The Vulcans' 1-0 loss to UC San Diego, their only loss of the season, is a moral victory of sorts, considering that the Tritons are now 10-1-1 on the year and ranked No. 10 in the latest national poll, after holding the top spot for nearly a month.

Eagles Come Flying In: The Vulcans will face Concordia on Thursday to kick off the four-match homestand. The Eagles, picked to finish third in the PacWest preseason poll, come to Hilo for the first of three matches on the islands. Earlier, they opened conference play by defeating preseason favorite Fresno Pacific in overtime, followed by a tie with Biola, an OT win over Azusa Pacific and now back-to-back losses to Point Loma and Biola. Concordia won last years battle against the Vulcans in Irvine, and the Eagles lead the all-time series, 3-0-1. Carmany Jones leads her team with five goals on the season. Biola comes to Hawaii unbeaten in the PacWest (3-0), just one point behind the Vulcans in the standings. They will play at Hawaii Pacific and Chaminade before arriving in Keaau. The Eagles have made a habit of scoring early in matches and then holding on and letting their defense carry the load. They have scored first in their last four matches and in five of six contests. Sarah Jeffries leads the way on offense with four goals and three assists in 2018. The Vulcans and Biola met for the first time ever last year, with Biola winning in La Mirada. This will be BU's first trip to Hawaii.
 
Around the Loop: Point Loma continues to roll, now having won nine straight matches to improve to 9-1 on the season and to 4-0 in the PacWest. The Sea Lions went 812 minutes without giving up a goal before finally allowing a score last week…The Vulcans are second, just one point ahead of Biola. Dominican is closing fast, having won four consecutive matches to improve to 3-1 in the PacWest and 6-4-1 overall…Regionally, Point Loma is sixth in the United Soccer Coaches Association West Region vote, the only PacWest team in the top ten. Concordia (Ore.) is first, followed by UC San Diego and Western Washington.

What's Next: Two more home matches follow after the bouts with Concordia and Biola. The Vulcans will host Hawaii Pacific on Saturday, October 20, and will then play its final Big Island match (Senior Day) on Monday, Oct. 22. Three road matches follow to wrap up the regular season.

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 18-17-7.