Box Score (photo courtesy of Andrew Lee, Hawai`i Media Source)

WAIPAHU, Oahu--Islands visitor Westminster scored a late goal to pin a loss on Hawai`i Hilo in their 2021 women's soccer season opener on Thursday afternoon at the Waipahu Peninsula Soccer Park, 1-0.

The Griffins' Elaina Pierce slipped a shot past Vulcan keeper Viviana Poli in the 76th minute to account for the only score of the match. Pierce's shot into the lower lefthand portion of the net broke a defensive deadlock and the Vulcans weren't able to counter in the final 14 minutes of the non-conference match.

Westminster outshot UH Hilo 8-3, but only three of their shots were on goal. Christina Kanellou had UHH's only shot directly on target, which was saved by Griffins' goalkeeper Kelsea Cracroft, who earned the shutout.

This was the first official match for the Griffins, but they had won two exhibition matches against Idaho State and Utah State Eastern before arriving in Hawai`i. They reached the title match of the RMAC tournament last spring and were picked to finish fourth this year in the Rocky Mountain Athletic Conference preseason poll. 

The Vulcans now head to the mainland for a pair of matches against teams from the CCAA (California Collegiate Athletic Association). They will take on Humboldt State on Sunday at 1 pm Pacific Time and then travel to San Francisco State for a Tuesday bout at noon.