HILO, Hawai'i – With time winding down on the match, Colby Lee tapped in the lone score of the game off a long cross-in from Aidan Santos in the 80th minute to power the Hawai'i Hilo Men's Soccer team through Concordia University Irvine, 1-0, Monday afternoon in Pacific West Conference action at the Vulcan Soccer Field.
Santos sent a cross-in to the far post from just outside the penalty area as Lee slid and tapped the ball back across the CUI keeper for the score.
"I saw Aidan get the ball on the farside. Tom (Vorkastner) made a near-post run and dragged the defender and left me free back-post. Aidan played a great ball — all I had to do was tap the ball in so all credit to Aidan," Lee said. "We only had three games left — now we've only got two. It was just staying focused and getting the results in each game."
Both teams went scoreless in the first half as pressure picked up in the later portions of the match. Following the score, CUI kept possession deep in the Vulcans' territory but the defense stood strong as Hawai'i Hilo keeper Christian Souza was credited with three saves in his fourth clean sheet of the season.
The Vulcans sit at No. 3 in the PacWest Conference standings and have a slim path to being able to lay claim to the league title. Hawai'i Hilo will have to win out its remaining matches and finish in a tie or better with the league-leading squad(s).
Ahead in the standings is both Westmont and Point Loma at 6-1-0 with three matches remaining for each team. Both schools will match up Nov. 8 in San Diego, California.
UP NEXT
Hawai'i Hilo moved to 8-6-0 (5-3-0 PacWest) while Concordia University Irvine moved to a 3-4-0 conference record (4-8-0 overall).
The Vulcans will celebrate their seniors — Andrew Rehedul, MarcAnthony Cabrera, Alex Carmona, Joesph Torres, Tom Vorkastner, David Mayser and Christian Souza — with their final home contest this Saturday, Nov. 4 against Azusa Pacific starting at 12:30 p.m.
Hawai'i Hilo will conclude the regular season 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.
