HILO, Hawai'i – The Hawai'i Hilo men's soccer team was snagged by the visiting Hawai'i Pacific Sharks, 2-1, Saturday afternoon in non-conference action at the Vulcan Soccer Field.
The Sharks netted goals in each half to take a 2-0 lead before the Vulcans started to heat up late with a score in the 82nd minute and a final push down the stretch of the match.
HPU's Gerrit Arberger broke the scoreless game in the 29th minute off a penalty kick then later made an acrobatic bicycle kick pass from midfield to set up Makana Srivongsana and Austin Stafford with a numbers advantage and a 77th-minute goal.
Hawai'i Hilo wouldn't go down without a fight as Keegan Ferreira's (San Diego, Calif./Patrick Henry HS) cross connected with Marcus Plataniotis (Drummoyne, New South Wales, Australia/Sydney Boys HS) for the header in the 82nd minute.
The Vulcans pushed the pace in the final frames of the match, but the Sharks held control to take their first win of the season.
Anree Bogart (Chula Vista, Calif./Eastlake HS) got the start in goal for the Vulcans but left the match after 20 minutes of play following a collision in front of the net with a HPU player on a crossed-pass
Freshman Adam Frank (Reno, Nev./Robert McQueen HS) made his first appearance and came up with two saves.
There were six total yellow cards and one red issued by officials.
What's Next
Hawai'i Hilo fell to 1-3-1 overall while HPU improved to 1-2-2.
Vulcans will be back at home next Friday, Sept. 23 to host Chaminade (0-2) for the final game of the non-conference slate.
The Sharks host the Silverswords Sept. 20 to complete their non-conference season.
