HILO, Hawai'i – Just minutes after the Vulcans headed in a late-equalizing goal, the Sea Lions squeezed back ahead after a handball violation led to a penalty-kick score in the 89th minute as the Hawai'i Hilo Men's Soccer team dropped an intense 2-1 affair to Point Loma Saturday afternoon in Pacific West Conference action at the Vulcan Soccer Field.
Chasing a 1-0 deficit with time winding down, the Vulcans tied the score in the 86th minute on Keegan Ferreira's long throw-in inside a crowded box with Koki Hamada heading the ball over to Palli Ingvason for the double-noggin finish.
However, a few possessions later, Ingvason got caught twisted up between two PLNU attackers inside the Vulcans own penalty area and was called for a handball. Felix Calero managed to get the ball through the goal on the penalty-kick attempt to give the Sea Lions the late-game victory.
"It's difficult not to get the result after the way we performed," Vulcans head coach Diego Marroquin said. "At the same time, we feel like we're taking steps forward. The ball bounced a different way this time. We have three games left that we want to do our best in and we'll let the results take care of itself."
Point Loma and Hawai'i Hilo entered the weekend at the No. 1 and No. 2 spots, respectively atop the conference standings. With the win, the Sea Lions expanded their lead with 15 total points as the Vulcans dropped into a tie for third place with Westmont at 12 points apiece. Dominican sits at No. 2 with 13 points.
UP NEXT
Hawai'i Hilo moved to 7-6-0 (4-3-0 PacWest) while Point Loma moved to a 5-1-0 conference record (9-4-0 overall).
The Vulcans will have just two more home contests coming up with Concordia University Irvine (Oct. 30) and Azusa Pacific (Nov. 4) before the regular-season finale on O'ahu against Chaminade (Nov. 12).
ONLINE TICKETS
Single-game tickets are now available to be purchased online through Hawai'i Hilo Vulcans Athletics' recently launched online ticket platform in partnership with AudienceView Campus.
Tickets for all soccer, women's volleyball and men's and women's basketball home events are available at HiloAthletics.com/tickets.
