AZUSA, California – No rule book needed this time; the Hawai'i Hilo women's soccer team are the sole Pacific West Conference Champions in 2022.
The 10th-ranked Vulcans came out aggressive once again to blow by Azusa Pacific, 3-1, Saturday evening at the Cougar Soccer Complex to finish the season unbeaten and stake their claim as outright PacWest champs.
Grace VerHage (Otsego, Michigan/Otsego HS) netted all three scores in the first half for the second hat-trick of her career and just the sixth in program history — the last one 10 years ago by Adele Letro against Chaminade.
Saturday's three goals also propelled the fifth-year senior transfer to not only the top as team-leader for the season with 11, but also as the conference-leader for the time being. Along with three assists, it also puts VerHage in the lead with 25 points.
Hawai'i Hilo repeats as back-to-back conference champions, but this time alone at the top as last year they finished tied with Point Loma Nazarene to earn the "co-champion" moniker while claiming the NCAA Women's Soccer Championships automatic qualifying bid due to defeating PLNU in the head-to-head matchup.
What's Next
Hawai'i Hilo improved to 13-0-3 overall, 8-0-2 PacWest while Azusa Pacific fell to 4-2-2 in the PacWest (7-4-4 overall).
The Vulcans will find out their placement in the NCAA Women's Soccer Championships West Regional bracket on Monday, Nov. 7 with the NCAA Selection Show to be broadcast online on NCAA.com starting at 2 p.m. local Hawai'i Time.
The six-team regional will feature the champions from the PacWest, Great Northwest Athletic Conference (GNAC) and California Collegiate Athletic Association (CCAA), along with three at-large bids.
In the latest NCAA Division II West Region Rankings released this past Wednesday, the Vulcans came in at No. 3. Point Loma Nazarene was No. 1 with Concordia University Irvine at No. 6. Western Washington University (GNAC) held the No. 2 spot.
The top two teams will earn hosting rights to the first and second rounds of the NCAA postseason.
APU has two road games remaining with matchups against Holy Names and Fresno Pacific.
