It's been a year and four months since the UH Hilo men's soccer team took the field for a match with Vulcan uniforms on. 469 days to be exact, give or take a few squares on the calendar.

They will finally take to the field this Saturday and Sunday on Oahu against Chaminade (Saturday) and Hawaii Pacific (Sunday). Both matches will be played at St. Louis Field, with noon the start time on Saturday and 11 am the kick-off on Sunday.

The Vulcans have survived a missed spring practice season, their normal 2020 fall schedule, and even had their first spring match of 2021 postponed. It seems like forever since they have last gotten ready for a match. 

"I don't normally like to speak for the guys, but I think I can safely say that we're all very excited," head coach Paul Regrutto said. "We have tried to make the best of this time, to get better each day as a program."

When we last saw the Vulcans on the pitch in November of 2019, it was long before most people had even heard of COVID-19. UHH, in Regrutto's second season, won two out of their final three matches to finish 5-11 overall and 4-7 in the PacWest, more than doubling their win total from the year before. Hope was on the rise, and Regrutto was eager to continue to build the program during the spring practice season in 2020. 

We all know what happened next. Gone was spring, gone was the 2020 Fall schedule. Thankfully, as the pandemic lessens, the Pacific West Conference is playing a pod-only schedule this spring, just to get teams back on the practice field with a few matches, It's four matches to be exact for the Hawaii pod, with two games each scheduled against Hawaii Pacific and Chaminade. For all Fall sports that are now playing in the spring, like soccer, there aren't NCAA or conference championship opportunities. It's all just for improvement, and of course, the chance to win four matches.

"Ultimately, we're looking to continue to improve the program," Regrutto explained. "There are a bunch of components that go into that. First off we'd like to win, as it's validation for the hard work and discipline we've put in.  Secondly we'd like to play well as that's proof that we are developing an identity on the field. Lastly, we want to get some of the younger guys minutes. If we can have some semblance of all three of those things happening this weekend I'll be happy."

The Vulcans have 12 returnees from the 2019 team and a healthy addition of freshmen and transfers. The good news is, all get a "free" season, meaning they can return for the Fall of 2021 in the same eligibility class that they are right now.

The goal is, just to get better this spring and continue to build the program. And of course, try to go 4-0 against the Sharks and Silverswords.

"Overall, I really like this team," Regrutto summarized. "We have a high character team that's improving daily. If we have our full team here and we're healthy, we will be a very competitive team in the conference next season."