(photo of Brende Yoshizumi courtesy of Andrew Lee/Hawaii Media Source)

It's modest, but the Hawai`i Hilo women's soccer team is more than happy to take a two-match winning streak to Honolulu tomorrow (Thursday) for a non-conference match against PacWest rival Chaminade. 

It will be the last of UHH's non-conference matches for 2021, before they begin conference play on Sept. 29 at home against Azusa Pacific. The Vulcans take a 2-2 record to St. Louis Field, after taking wins over San Francisco State (1-0) and Hawaii Pacific (4-0) in the past two weeks. Thursday's match will begin at 10 am HT, and is available via video stream at GoSwords.com.

Scoring Machine: After scoring a total of one goal in their first two matches (losses to No. 13 nationally ranked Westminster and Humboldt State), the Vulcans broke out on Sunday with four tallies against the Sharks. A pair of Division I transfers provided most of the output, with Daelenn Tokunaga (Hawaii) scoring twice against the Sharks while also handing out an assist. Filippa Graneld (Colorado) had a goal and two assists at HPU, and also had the winning goal in the 88th minute in a 1-0 win over San Francisco State. 

Award Shelf: Filippa Graneld was named the Pacific West Conference Player of the Week for her efforts, while Daelenn Tokunaga was crowned the UH Hilo Pepsi Athlete of the Week. Tokunaga, who also scored in the 2-1 loss to Humboldt State, leads the conference with three goals and a assist (seven points).

Shots Galore: The Vulcans worked their way into plenty of scoring opportunities against the Sharks, firing off 20 shots (14 on goal) to HPU's four (two on goal). They had 13 shots (five on goal) against San Francisco State giving them 34 over their last two matches. They had just 13 total in their first two games.

The Buck Stops Here: UH Hilo goalkeeper Viviana Poli hasn't given up a goal in her last two matches. The Vulcan defense right in front of her is a big reason for that, and she only had to make two saves against HPU. But the Biola transfer had six against the Gators in that shutout, and now has 12 on the season with a 0.79 Goals Against Average.

Chaminade Chatter: The Silverswords, like the Vulcans, have a .500 record heading into Thursday's clash. Chaminade is 1-1, with a 1-0 loss to No. 10 nationally ranked Northwest Nazarene and a 2-1 victory over Central Washington. Both of those matches were played in Idaho. Last spring, the Vulcans and Silverswords tied a pair of matches by 2-2 and 1-1 scores. UH Hilo leads the all-time series, which began in 2006, by a margin of 28-2-5.

Up Next: Azusa Pacific visits Hilo on Sept. 29. The match will start at noon HT, and will be played on the baseball practice field (Hall Stadium). No fans will be allowed to that match, and video stream information will be coming soon at hiloathletics.com.

The Coach: Vulcan leader Gene Okamura enters into his sixth season as the UHH head coach in 2021. The former Vulcan player also coached the men's team for two seasons while also coaching the women. His current career mark while leading the UH Hilo women's program is 30-29-15.