Point Loma had a pair of big regional wins with victories over GNAC powers Seattle Pacific and Western Washington. Hawai'i Hilo, HPU, Azusa Pacific and Dominican pick up victories against CCAA squads.
PLAYER OF THE WEEK: Point Loma's Austin Lavell, F, 5-10, 150, Jr., Trabuco Canyon, Calif.
Austin Lavell had a hand in three of the four goals for his Point Loma squad as the Sea Lions won a high scoring 4-3 bout versus Seattle Pacific. The four goals were the most by a PacWest team this season, with Lavell scoring one and assisting on two others. He assisted on the first goal versus the Falcons less than five minutes into the match and found a rebound shot to his liking in the 25th minute to make it 2-1. He sent a cross to a teammate in the second half to give his squad a 3-2 lead. A three-year starter, Lavell was a Second Team All-PacWest pick last season as a sophomore.
DEFENDER OF THE WEEK
Hawai'i Hilo's Christian Souza, GK, 6-0, 170, Sr., Kapolei, Hawai'i
Hawai'i Hilo senior goalkeeper Christian Souza saved four shots during a tight 1-0 win for the Vulcans over visiting San Francisco State on Sunday night in Hilo. It was the second shutout of Souza's career and his defense helped give the Vulcans their first win (1-1) of 2023. The Gators had 11 shots on the day as Souza directed the defense to its first clean sheet since Oct. 18 of 2022 (vs. Holy Names). It was also the first collegiate victory for interim head coach Diego Marroquin.
TEAM OF THE WEEK: The Point Loma Sea Lions
Point Loma represented the PacWest well with wins over two very good teams from the Great Northwest Athletic Conference (GNAC) last week. Juan Salazar dribbled his way into the clear in the 87th minute for the game winner in a 4-3 victory over Seattle Pacific on Thursday, finally clinching a match that was played virutually dead even to that point. It was the second goal in four matches for the graduate transfer from CS San Marcos. The Sea Lions also used goals from Austin Lavell, Oliver Padilla and Gael Ruiz. On Saturday against Western Washington, Point Loma powered through for a very different kind of win, a 1-0 triumph. Niko Kaczmarczyk scored the game's only goal in the 80th minute, assisted by Ruiz. Last season, the Sea Lions tied both squads in very similar matches--3-3 against SPU and 0-0 versus the Vikings.
PACWEST NEWS AND NOTES
PacWest rookie Westmont impressed with a narrow 1-0 loss to No. 4 nationally ranked CS Los Angeles last Wednesday. The Warriors outshot the Golden Eagles (14-11) and had more corner kicks (6-1)...Dominican and Academy of Art played a non-conference match to a 2-2 draw. Joey Glaab scored both goals for the Urban Knights, with Lex Bernier and Joey Blakely cashing in for the Penguins...Concordia fell to the two teams Point Loma defeated, dropping a wild 4-3 final to Seattle Pacific and a 3-1 verdict to Western Washington...Azusa Pacific tripped up Stanislaus State (3-1) with a goal and an assist from Gabriel Oropeza...HPU blanked San Francisco State (3-0) using a goal and an assist from Royal Kekuewa and a three-save shutout from keeper Connor Margo...Dominican defeated CS Monterey Bay (2-1) with goals from Blakely and Diego Grande.
LOOKING AHEAD
Another full non-conference schedule looms, beginning with a Azusa Pacific taking on CS Los Angeles on Tuesday night under the lights...Stanislaus State visits Fresno Pacific on Wednesday...Five CCAA vs. PacWest matches are on the slate on Thursday, with eight matches wrapping up the week on Saturday. Matches between league favorites include Point Loma at CSULA, Cal Poly Pomona at APU and Biola at Sonoma State.
