HONOLULU, Hawai'i – For the third time in program history, the Hawai'i Hilo Men's Soccer team will finish with double-digit wins after blanking Chaminade, 2-0, Sunday afternoon in Pacific West Conference action at the Saint Louis School Field.
The Vulcans finish the regular season at 10-6-0 overall with a 7-3-0 conference record, good for No. 3 in the league standings behind PacWest champion Point Loma (8-1-1) and runner-up Westmont (7-2-1).
"Start to finish, I think there was a lot of progression. We all improved and we all came together as a collective group. We had some hiccups but this group never gave up whether we won, loss tied, had a bad week or was rainy in Hilo," Vulcans acting head coach Diego Marroquin said. "Absolute big-time leadership — seniors, specifically. This staff made it easy for me."
Hawai'i Hilo got on the scoreboard in the ninth minute with Gabriel Gallardo taking advantage of an errant pass caused by Palli Ingvason and Aidan Santos. Gallardo charged past the defender and straight toward the Chaminade goalkeeper before sending the shot through for the score.
It was a windy afternoon with gusts swirling with the Vulcans' attacking direction in the first half. Tom Vorkastner added another score in the 34th minute, capitalizing on a failed Chaminade clearout to send the ball right back toward the goal as it ricocheted off a defender and into the back of the net.
The Vulcans were credited with 13 shots in each half, totaling 18 shots on goal as Chaminade goalkeeper Brandon Yasue finished with 16 saves.
Hawai'i Hilo's Christian Souza recorded four saves for his fifth shutout of the season.
Hawai'i Hilo Men's Soccer finished the 2008 and 2009 seasons with double-digit wins.
UP NEXT
Hawai'i Hilo moved to 10-6-0 (7-3-0 PacWest) while Chaminade moved to an 0-8-2 conference record (0-12-3 overall).
Ten teams will qualify for the NCAA Division II Men's Soccer Championship Super-Region 4 with five automatic qualifying bids going to each of the champions from the PacWest (Point Loma), California Collegiate Athletic Association (Cal State L.A.), Great Northwest Athletic Conference (Simon Fraser), Rocky Mountain Athletic Conference (Colorado State Pueblo) and the Lone Star Conference (Midwestern State). The remaining five at-large spots will be determined by the NCAA Regional Rankings and the final announcement at the NCAA Selection Show set for Monday, Nov. 13 at 5 p.m. on NCAA.com. The Vulcans did not appear in last week's NCAA Regional Rankings.
Mahalo for your support of Hawai'i Hilo Men's Soccer and Hawai'i Hilo Vulcans Athletics this season.
PACWEST HAWAI'I CHALLENGE
In an effort to elevate Hawai'i-based rivalries, the PacWest Hawaii Challenge has awarded the top school in athletics competition among the state's Division II institutions going back to the late 1970s.
Comprising 10 sports that all three schools participate in, points are awarded from head-to-head Pacific West Conference matchups as well as final placements at conference-ending meets and events. At the conclusion of each sport's season, the team with the highest total gets three points while the second-highest gets two and the third-place finisher receives one.
With a few more volleyball matches to go to wrap up the fall, all three schools are evenly tied at six points a piece.
