HILO, Hawai'i – Colby Lee put in the first score of the game and later assisted on the game-winning goal to boost the Hawa'i Hilo Men's Soccer team past Biola, 3-1, Monday afternoon in Pacific West Conference action at the Vulcan Soccer Field.
Just a few minutes into the game, Lee made the connection from Aidan Santos down the right side of the field and nailed the ball across the keeper for the early lead.
Biola equalized the score in the 32nd minute on Ethan Hardin's goal and assist from Brennan Furlan.
After halftime, Lee sent a cross in toward the goal that deflected off the Biola keeper and bounced off Andrew Rehedul to crawl its way past the goal line for the go-ahead score.
Gabriel Gallardo quickly added another score, flushing in a deflected shot from Bryan Schraier in the 59th minute.
"It's nice to reset after the travel and the HPU matches. It's always nice to get the result, but also nice to see the buy-in and commitment from the team throughout the week," Hawai'i Hilo Men's Soccer Acting Head Coach Diego Marroquin said.
Biola shared the title of 2022 PacWest Conference Co-Champion and earned the bid into the NCAA Super Regional last season.
"Playing the defending champs — I think it's easy to allow that to get to their heads and let that affect the way they played. We just got to focus on ourselves and we'll be fine," Marroquin said. "Our guys came in with a good mentality. They just played, were focused and were competitive."
The Eagles outshot the Vulcans, 13-6, but Hawai'i Hilo goalkeeper Christian Souza came up with six saves.
UP NEXT
Hawai'i Hilo moved to 6-5-0 (3-2-0 PacWest) while Biola moved to a 2-2-0 conference record (4-6-2 overall).
The Vulcans will have four more home contests coming up with Westmont (Oct. 19), Point Loma (Oct. 21), Concordia University Irvine (Oct. 30), Azusa Pacific (Nov. 4) before the regular-season finale on O'ahu against Chaminade on Nov. 12.
ONLINE TICKETS
Single-game and season tickets are now available to be purchased online through Hawai'i Hilo Vulcans Athletics' recently launched online ticket platform in partnership with AudienceView Campus.
The 2023 slate will feature 15 total home matches at the Vulcan Soccer Field with a package price of $30 for adults and $25 for seniors (ages 65-plus) and middle/high school students.
Both can be accessed at HiloAthletics.com/tickets.
