HONOLULU, Hawai'i – The Hawai'i Hilo women's soccer team rolled to a season-opening 4-1 victory over Cal State East Bay Thursday morning at Chaminade University's Saint Louis Field.
Grace VerHage (Otsego, Mich./Otsego HS) put in a pair of goals to lead the Vulcans as Teani Arakawa (Makawao, Hawai'i/King Kekaulike HS) chipped in three points with an assist on VerHage's first score and then a goal of her own.
Freshman Lolo Retsky (Calabasas, Calif./Sierra Canyon School) got the start in goal making one save for her first win. The Pioneers managed just five shots in the contest — three in the first half and two in the second period — with two of them on goal.
"It took us a little bit to get into the flow of the game, but once we did, the team did a good job of implementing the tactics and ideas that we have been talking about," head coach Gene Okamura said.
Alysson Padron got the Vulcans on the board 17 minutes into the match off a free-kick assist from Daelenn Tokunaga (Waipahu, Hawai'i/Pearl City HS) about 15 yards up the sideline. Padron connected with the pass and hit it in the left side of the net.
Ten minutes later, Arakawa stopped a Pioneers' clear attempt and quickly raced forward to find VerHage ahead for the 15-foot goal.
CSUEB responded just a few minutes later as Kelsea Pena found Morgan Pearson on the corner kick for the header up and over into the net in the 31st minute.
The score remained the same through the next 30-plus minutes until Arakawa displayed a flash of her speed and quickness in taking a throw-in from Maisie Paulson (Highlands Ranch, Colo./Mountain Vista HS) 35 yards out and cutting through four defenders plus the diving goalkeeper to cross a goal into the empty net and put the Vulcans up 3-1.
VerHage then put the icing on the cake after beating two defenders in the corner to scoot the ball past the keeper from 30-feet out to reach the final 4-1 score.
What's Next
Hawai'i Hilo improved to 1-0 on the season while Cal State East Bay dropped even to 1-1-1.
The Vulcans will be back on the road to continue their season-opening road slate with games next week at San Francisco State, Stanislaus State and Regis.
Home opener will be Sept. 17 with a non-conference matchup against Hawai'i Pacific on the brand-new Vulcan Soccer Field.
A ceremonial blessing for Hawai'i Hilo's new athletic fields and facilities will be held Friday, Sept. 2. The new facilities include turf soccer field, revamped softball field and resurfaced tennis courts in addition to a new multipurpose building.
Cal State East Bay takes on Chaminade (3-0) on Saturday to wrap up its Hawai'i-trip. The Pioneers play Dominican next week.
