2019 University of Hawaii Hilo Men's Soccer
Overall Record: 5-12
PWC Record: 4-7 (9^th of 12)

Climbing the Ladder: The 2019 UH Hilo men's soccer team made a one-win improvement overall and did the same in the Pacific West Conference standings in head coach Paul Regrutto's second year at the helm. In fact, UH Hilo's five wins was the most for the program since the 2014 team went 7-9-2.

Schedule Strength: The Vulcans dove right into the season, taking on two teams that would go on to reach the NCAA playoffs (Cal Poly Pomona and UC San Diego), along with Cal State San Marcos. UH Hilo would go two overtimes with CSUSM before falling 2-1, and would lose by the same score to UCSD after leading 1-0.

Signature Near-Win: In 2018, the Vulcans had a signature win right out of the gates, upsetting nationally ranked Western Washington (1-0) on the road in their season opener. In 2019, the near-upset of the year happened on Oct. 28 when the Vulcans took No. 1 nationally ranked and undefeated Azusa Pacific to overtime before the Cougars scored the sudden-death winner at 99:04. With the 3-2 win, APU went to 13-0 on the season, and they would go on to finish 18-1, only losing to Colorado School of Mines in the NCAA tournament.

Flying Past the Eagles: UH Hilo's best win of the season came just two days prior to the overtime clash with the Cougars, also on the road. UH Hilo scored twice in the second half to rally from a 1-0 deficit to upset Biola (2-1) on goals by Jorge Martinez and the winner with just 1:56 left on the clock by Robert George. It was UH Hilo's first win over Biola in three tries. The Eagles would go on to finish 6-3-2 in the PacWest.

Near First: The Vulcans came oh-so-close to their first-ever victory over Fresno Pacific, at home on Oct. 19. The Sunbirds scored the game-winner in overtime to cap a wild 4-3 victory. There were 33 total shots, 26 fouls and six yellow cards in the intense affair. FPU is now 8-0 all-time against the Vulcans.

So Close: Four of UH Hilo's losses were by one goal, and three of those were in overtime. For the third season in a row, the Vulcans didn't have a tie.

He's Back!!: The very first head coach that the UHH program ever knew returned in 2018. Paul Regrutto, who led the inaugural Vulcan team in 2006, was back on the sidelines in 2018 as the interim head coach and was then had the interim tag taken off for 2019 and beyond. The Colorado native previously was the lead men's assistant at Colorado State-Pueblo, assisted the women's team at Cal State San Bernardino and most recently was the head coach for the women's team at CSU-Pueblo. He was the Rocky Mountain Athletic Conference Coach of the Year in 2016, leading the Thunderwolves to the NCAA tournament for the first time.

Paul's Post: "This year, I feel that we have made good progress in starting to cement the type of culture that we want along with having some good moments. The players are starting to adjust in a positive way and I thought that our performances near the end of the year were our best.  With that said, we played very well for spurts throughout the season and we must find a level of consistency that allows for us to compete at the highest levels for every minute of every match." 

Senior Salute: In UH Hilo's final home match of the 2019 season, a tough 3-1 loss to Chaminade, the Vulcans saluted their six seniors—Brandon Baca, Bryan Gonzalez, Pedro Werneck, Robert George, Selvin Sandoval and Jorge Martinez.

Week to Remember: Senior Jorge Martinez had a final week to remember. In UH Hilo's final three mates, all at home, he scored both goals in a 2-0 win over Holy Names and scored the match winner with 16 seconds left in a 2-1 victory over Academy of Art. He also had an assist in the season finale loss to Chaminade.

More on Martinez: The midfielder from Spain parlayed a great final week into climbing charts on UH Hilo's record book lists. Finishing with seven goals on the season, he ranks sixth all-time for a single season, and coupled with three assists, his 17 points is fifth in that category. His two-year total of 19 points is fifth on the career list, and his eight goals is sixth.

Harre Situations Don't Bother Michael: Junior goalkeeper Michael Harre made a big splash in his first season as a Vulcan. The Maryville University transfer played every minute in the goal for the Vulcans, finishing with a 2.63 Goals Against Average and 86 saves. He had shutouts against Notre Dame de Namur and Holy Names, and played a huge role in the near upset of Azusa Pacific with a school-record 14 saves. His 86 season saves is second only to Nick Williams' 94 saves in 2018, and Harre will have a very legitimate shot at Williams' career record of 143 saves next year.

More Paul: "The off season must be based upon making the culture even stronger, while also improving each individual player.  We will see big jumps in team and individual success with a good nine months of training.  On the coaching side of things, we must look to bring in a strong recruiting class to strengthen to squad's ability and depth, as well as making some decisions regarding the tactical direction of our team.  With all of that said, we just want to keep improving.  The program has not reached its potential and the players and staff must believe we are capable of doing special things and then put in the work to achieve them."  

History Revealed: 14 seasons of men's soccer history at the University of Hawai`i Hilo is  trackable on the Vulcans website. Check out the updates below.

2019 Final Statistics
https://hiloathletics.com/sports/mens-soccer/stats/2019
Single Season, Career, Individual Match Records
https://hiloathletics.com/documents/2019/12/26/Individual_Records.docx
 Year-By-Year Coaches and Records
https://hiloathletics.com/documents/2019/11/27/Men_s_soccer_records.docx
 All-Time Series History
https://hiloathletics.com/documents/2019/12/26/All_Time_Series.docx
 All-Time Vulcan PacWest Honorees
https://hiloathletics.com/documents/2018/11/20/Accolades.docx