(Vulcans celebrate winning goal--photo by Joe Poellot). Story by Russ Blunck

HILO, Hawai`i--One streak came to a halt and another continued, along with the hopes and dreams of a postseason that hung in the balance for the underdogs.

UH Hilo's Daelenn Tokunaga ended a defensive battle with the game winner in overtime as the host Vulcans stunned unbeaten Point Loma on Wednesday afternoon at Hall Stadium. The Vulcans' 1-0 win was their seventh straight, but more importantly kept their Pacific West Conference title and NCAA postseason hopes alive. The Vulcans and Sea Lions are now both 7-1 in conference play, with two matches remaining. 

Unranked UH Hilo improved to 10-3 overall. Point Loma, ranked No. 13 nationally and fourth in the NCAA Division II West Region, saw its 34-match unbeaten streak in the PacWest come to an end. The Sea Lions are now 11-1-1 overall.

Six teams advance to the NCAA tournament, and the Vulcans only route to that path is to win the PacWest title, since they are not yet ranked. That dream stays active, with the final two matches ahead on November 7 (Hawaii Pacific) and Nov. 13 (Chaminade), both at home. If UH Hilo and Point Loma tie for the conference title, the Vulcans would get the automatic berth by virtue of their win today.

"We have two matches left at home, with everything to play for," said a drained head coach Gene Okamura after the match. "It's what you dream of, and defeating a team like Point Loma, who has been the class of our conference, and it makes it all the more meaningful. We have two big matches left and have to have the results to move on."

Tokunaga's score came at 96:39, ending a defensive standoff. The leading scorer in the PacWest took a pass from Nanea Wall, and with a defender on her hip, popped a shot into the upper righthand corner of the goal. 

In some ways, much of the match was predictable. The Sea Lions had given up five goals all season and the Vulcans just six, and if their was going to be a goal scored, chances are it might come from Tokunaga, who scored her 12th of the season and has a conference-best 27 points.

Other than the score, the stats were even. UH Hilo had eight shots, four of them on goal. Point Loma had seven shots, three on goal--so those numbers were dead even prior to Tokunaga's score.

Point Loma didn't get their first shot on goal until the second half. They had all three shots towards the keeper after intermission, including a bullet at the 78 minute mark by Hailey Clifford that had to be saved by UHH's Viviana Poli. Six minutes earlier, Tokunaga had a breakaway shot that just sailed over the top of the crossbar that kept the score 0-0. 

The first five minutes of overtime featured defensive stops before Tokunaga's sprint and game-winner. Vulcans coaches and players streamed onto the field in celebration, with the Sea Lions trudging off the field having lost their first match in conference play since 2017. 

Poli recorded her fifth straight shutout and had three saves on the warm afternoon. Emma Hinson also had three saves in the Sea Lion net. Point Loma had seven corner kicks to UHH's one. 

"Our defense has been key for us all year, and of course so has Daelenn," Okamura added. "It's not easy to score on Point Loma but Daelenn found a way. We now have to continue to take care of business against our rivals in the final two matches of the season."