This Week in Vulcan Women's Soccer
Record: 3-7-4 (2-4-2 PWC)

Three Matches at Home Give Vulcans Chance to End on High Note                
Monday, Nov. 11 vs. Holy Names (1-11-3 / 1-5-2 PWC), Hilo, 4:30 pm
Thursday, Nov. 14 vs. Academy of Art (7-5-3 / 3-3-2 PWC), Hilo, 4:30 pm
Saturday, Nov. 16 vs. Chaminade (1-7-3 / 1-6-1 PWC), Hilo, 12:30 pm
 
Final Three: After their toughest road trip of the season, the Hawai`i Hilo women's soccer team returns to the Big Island for their final three matches of the year, all at home. The Vulcans will play Holy Names on Monday, Academy of Art on Thursday and will wrap up 2019 with a Senior Day clash on Saturday with rival Chaminade.
 
Senior Salute: On Saturday after the match, Vulcans fans and families will salute UH Hilo's seven seniors—Bailey Cahill, Janelle Schwartz, Hedda Bjerklund, Sabrina Scott, Madison Gates, Brianna Valencia and Ysabela Gabrielle Barin.
 
No Vacation in SoCal: The Vulcans took a 2-1-1 PacWest record to southern California last week, with hopes of making noise against the top four teams in the conference. It didn't quite turn out as planned for Coach Gene Okamura's team. The Vulcans lost three and tied one (Azusa Pacific), moving them to 2-4-2 in conference play and to eighth place in the PacWest.
 
Coach Gene Says: "We struggled again to put the ball into the net. Our goal over these last three matches is to put away the opportunities that we have and finish with some strong results."
 
Brick Wall: In the month of October, except for Halloween Thursday, the Vulcans gave up just TWO goals in SEVEN matches. On the 31^st against Point Loma, the Sea Lions scored three times, as did Concordia on Nov. 2.

Four Letter Words (Names): Opposing coaches are muttering four-letter words, or names, when the Vulcans score. Brenna RILL and Nanea WALL had three goals each for the Vulcans and Wall has an assist to lead the club with seven points. Camille Strazzo, a defender, has two goals, and others with a goal each include Crystal Sanchez, Christy Jensen, Annie Brejc and Brianna Valencia.

Helping Others: Crystal Sanchez has four assists on the year and a goal (six points). Brende Yoshizumi has three assist.
 
Saving the Day: Senior keeper Bailey Cahill lists fifth in the conference in Goals Against Average at 1.057, is third in saves (72), and fourth in saves per game (5.14).

Hawk Headlines: The Vulcans will open the homestand against Holy Names, who will be opening their three-match trip to the islands. The Hawks have won just one match this year, but that came earlier this week against Dominican (3-2). Holy Names is playing their best soccer of the year right now, with a win, a loss and two ties in their last four outings. Abbi Alexander leads the Hawks with five goals scored this year. The Vulcans won last year's match-up between the two teams in Oakland (3-1), and UHH leads the all-time series, 5-1-1.
 
Urban Knight Noise: Academy of Art sits in the middle of PacWest pack, at 3-3-2 in league play and they are 7-5-3 overall. They have only one loss in their last five outings, which includes a 5-0 pasting of Fresno Pacific. They have a win over Azusa Pacific this year, and they tied first-place Point Loma. The Urban Knights are second in the PacWest in goals scored with 30, led by Anissa Wilson, the conference leader with 13. Goalkeeper Lara Pficke is second in the PWC with a .824 save percentage, and she is third in shutouts (2) and saves per game (5.36). The Vulcans won last year's match in San Francisco (1-0), and UH Hilo leads the all-time series, 7-2-1.
 
Chaminade Clippings: The Silverswords are looking to end the season on a high note against one of their island rivals. Chaminade hasn't won since Oct. 6, a 2-1 victory over Notre Dame de Namur. Prior to that, in a non-conference battle, they tied UHH, 0-0. Goalkeeper Naomi Takata leads the PacWest in saves with 76, and in saves per match with 6.91. Taking into account the tie earlier this year, UH Hilo leads the all-time series between the two squads, 27-2-3.

Around the PacWest: First-place Point Loma (8-0-1) and Concordia (7-0-1) are still unbeaten in PacWest play, with 25 and 22 standings points respectively. Biola is a close third at 7-2 (21 points). In the west region, Point Loma is still not listed in the top 9, which reads like this—(1) Sonoma State 13-1, (2) UC San Diego 14-1-1, (3) Cal Poly Pomona 12-3-2, (4) Western Washington 15-2, (5) Cal State LA 6-6-1, (6) Biola 10-3-1, (7) Concordia CA 8-3-2, (8) Seattle Pacific 10-6, (9) Stanislaus State 10-4.

Last Year: The Vulcans went 10-4-2 overall and 7-3-1 in the Pacific West Conference, finishing tied for second place. They lost 11 seniors off that team and five All-PacWest selections.

The Coach: Gene Okamura is in his fourth season of leading the UH Hilo women's soccer program. A former player that was on the very first UH Hilo men's soccer team in 2006, Okamura also coached the men for two seasons (2016 and 2017), pulling double duty. In three-plus seasons leading the Vulcan women, the Hilo native is now 25-27-11.

Streaming Live: All Vulcan home matches are now available (for the first time) via pay-per-view through the Vulcan website at hiloathletics.com. Live Stats (free) can also be accessed through the same venue. To do either, go to the website and to Women's Soccer. Click on the Schedule, and follow the links. Cost for a single game is $7.95 and a Season Pass can be had for $39.95. A Season Pass for both women's and men's soccer costs just $49.95.