Coming off a 10-4-2 season and a second place finish in the Pacific West Conference in 2018, and three straight wins to end the 2019 year, the last thing that the Hawaii Hilo women's soccer team needed was 15 months off without a match.
But that's what they got, thanks to the pandemic. But that 15 months comes to an end this weekend when the Vulcans travel to Honolulu for a pair of spring matches against Chaminade (Saturday) and Hawaii Pacific (Sunday). Both matches will be played at St. Louis Field with 3 pm and 2 pm starts respectively.
It's a short four-match season for the Vulcans, with no postseason possibilities. All players will return next fall with their same year of eligibility. But be sure, especially when playing your two Hawaiian rivals, the matches count for something.
"The energy will be very high because the girls are all excited to be out there and put the uniform on," head coach Gene Okamura told the Hawaii Tribune-Herald. "We haven't seen them playing against an opponent, we've only seen them playing themselves. We want to see how players perform under pressure."
Conceivably, there were a few coaches around the nation who were looking at a tough rebuild and felt they got a reprieve of sorts when the 2020 fall season was canceled. Don't count Okamura in that group. His 2019 women's team won its last three matches to finish 6-7-4, and the bulk of his key players were set to return.
"We returned a really good group and we added some quality players," he said.
Junior Jodi Lillie was a preseason All-PacWest selection after making the first team in 2018 and the second in 2019, and she'll use these four matches to begin her full-time transition from defense to midfield.
"I think she gave us stability back there, and Jodi can provide a bunch more for us by moving forward," Okamura said "If we can win the ball higher with her in the midfield, it will help us a lot."
He's bringing 20 players to Oahu, including the top two goal scorers from 2019, Nanea Wall and Brenna Rill, as well a fullback Camille Strazzo, a co-captain along with Lillie. Wall, a former Konawaena High School standout, turned in a fine freshman campaign with five goals, and Rill found the back of the net four times after transferring from Division I Idaho.
Among the players making their debuts will be junior Daelenn Tokunaga, a transfer from the University of Hawaii, while sophomores Taylor Hornburg and Viviana Poli, a transfer from Biola, will vie to take over at goalkeeper.
It's a solid group that Okamura can't wait to see on the field.
"I think with the group we have now, we would be extremely competitive in our conference," he confirmed. "We have been talking a ton of details in how we want to approach the game when we play, so being able to implement these ideas and concepts into an actual match is our main priority this weekend."
After these two matches, the Vulcans are scheduled to have another match each against the Sharks and Silverswords, at a time and place yet to be determined.
