This Week in Vulcan Women's Soccer
Record: 1-2-1

Saturday, Sept. 28 vs. Hawaii Pacific (2-2), UHH Campus Field, 12:30 p.m.
Friday, Oct. 4 @Chaminade (0-1), Honolulu, St. Louis Field, 10 a.m.
Sunday, Oct. 6 @Hawaii Pacific, Honolulu, Waipio Field #5, Noon
 
Home in Hilo: The UH Hilo women's soccer team will play their 2019 home opener this Saturday (Sept. 28) against Hawaii Pacific. This year, "home" means in Hilo and on campus. The Vulcans will play all seven of their home tilts this fall on the upper field (they played at Kamehameha School the past three seasons). Plans for a new on-campus soccer complex is in the works and is expected to be completed by 2020 or 2021.
 
You Guys Again? The Vulcans will host Hawaii Pacific on Saturday in a non-conference match, and then will turn around next week and take on the Sharks in a PacWest Conference bout (Oct. 6). In between, UHH will play Chaminade in a non-conference match in Honolulu on Oct. 4.
 
Free and Free: Vulcan towels will be given to the first 50 fans in attendance, and free admission for UH Hilo (and HCC) students, faculty and staff is the new normal.
 
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.
 
Good to be Home: The Vulcans opened their season with four wild matches in eight days, on the road in northern California and Idaho. Most of the luck tilted away from the road team on this trip. UHH opened the year with a 2-1 loss to Cal State Monterey Bay when the Otters scored the winning goal with 30 seconds left in the second overtime. The road warriors then played 110 minutes of scoreless soccer in a 0-0 tie with Cal State East Bay, and suffered heartbreak against when Northwest Nazarene broke a 1-1 tie with seven minutes left to grab the 2-1 win. The Vulcans finally broke out in a big way on the last match of the trip, exploding for four goals in a 4-2 crushing of Central Washington.

Spreading the Wealth: UH Hilo has scored six goals in four matches, and six different Vulcans have found the back of the net. Nanea Wall, Brianna Valencia, Brenna Rill, Christy Jensen, Annie Brejc and Camille Strazzo all have scored goals. Brende Yoshizumi and Crystal Sanchez had two assists apiece, while Wall and Jodi Lillie have dished off for goals as well.  

Taking Aim: The Vulcans have 31 shots on goal thus far, compared to 28 for their opponents. But UHH's counterparts have 63 total shots, compared to UH Hilo's 47. The Vulcans have scored six goals and given up six. Crystal Sanchez leads the Vulcans in total shots (12) and shots on goal (6).

Shark Bait: Two out of UH Hilo's next three matches will be against Hawaii Pacific. The Sharks are 2-2 on the season, having defeated Central Washington (3-2) and St. Martin's (5-0), and losing to Western Oregon (1-0) and No. 17 ranked Dallas Baptist (2-1). They will also play Chaminade in a non-conference match on Thursday before making their way to Hilo. Senior four-year starter Ebony Madrid leads the Sharks with three goals and three assists (nine points), and she has 12 career goals and eight assists. She is also the reigning PacWest Player of the Week. The Vulcans and Sharks split a pair of 1-0 matches last year, and HPU leads the all-time series, 12-9-5. Hawaii Pacific was picked to finish ninth in the PacWest preseason poll.

Silversword Sentences: Chaminade has played just one match (prior to a Thursday encounter with Hawaii Pacific), falling in a close encounter to No. 17 Dallas Baptist, 2-1. The Silverswords have 12 newcomers on the team and started three freshmen and four sophomores against DBU. Kirstin Wong is the veteran on the team and has played 2,093 consecutive minutes over the past two seasons. Last year, the Vulcans defeated Chaminade at home (2-0), but tied them 0-0 on Oahu. UH Hilo leads the all-time series, 27-2-2.

Gene Says: "We are really looking forward to playing on campus this weekend," said Vulcan head coach Gene Okamura. "Hawaii Pacific will be a tough match-up. They have some solid preseason results and of course it is a rivalry match."

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 23-22-8.

What's Next: After the island rivalry matches over the next two weekends, the Vulcans will begin a three-match homestand. They will host Notre Dame de Namur (Oct. 9), Dominican (Oct. 16) and Fresno Pacific (Oct. 19).