HILO, Hawai'i – Shudai Ito factored into both of the Vulcans' goals after an explosive start carried the Hawai'i Hilo Men's Soccer team all the way through to a 2-0 victory over Chaminade Thursday afternoon in non-conference action at the Vulcan Soccer Field.
Gabriel Gallardo struck first in the fourth minute of the game after Ito sent a long ball just beyond midfield toward the goal with Gallardo and the Chaminade keeper colliding about 30 yards out as the ball skipped through for the score.
A few minutes later, Aidan Santos sent another long ball toward the goal and Gallardo was fouled in the penalty box by Chaminade's Daniel Villalva. Ito took the penalty kick and sent it to the back of the net through the right side.
"I think that we're enjoying it, we're improving, we're trying to drive the process and really push the envelope here and, yeah, it's been great," Hawai'i Hilo acting head coach Diego Marroquin said.
The Vulcans have had a quick turnaround after splitting a two-day road trip to Southern California against CSU San Marcos and CSU Dominguez Hills this past weekend. Hawai'i Hilo will be back on a plane, this time to Northern California, to start Pacific West Conference play next Monday.
"I mean the travel is definitely brutal," Marroquin said. "It's a different beast so I think the great thing here is we have a lot of squad depth. We definitely rotated players in today and they proved and showed that they're at the level and are pushing for more opportunity so I think as a staff we're incredibly pleased."
The score remained through the final 80 minutes as the Vulcans posted a third clean sheet of the season.
Sophomore Adam Frank made his first appearance of the season with the start and first career win at goalkeeper after recording four saves.
UP NEXT
Hawai'i Hilo moved to 3-2-0 while Chaminade moved to an 0-4-1 record.
The Vulcans will head back to the continent to Northern California to start Pacific West Conference play against Academy of Art (Sept. 25), Dominican (Sept. 28) and Fresno Pacific (Sept. 30).
Hawai'i Hilo will return home and island hop to O'ahu to close out the non-conference slate against HPU on Oct. 4 before hosting the Sharks Oct. 7 in PacWest Conference play.
Chaminade and Hawai'i Hilo will play against Nov. 12 on O'ahu to close out the regular season.
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.
