Concordia made a national statement by defeating the defending NCAA champions, and gained a little revenge at the same time with a 4-0 victory over Western Washington. They are the Team of the Week. Goalkeeper Riley Urquiza played a big part in that glorious result and is the Defender of the Week. Hawai'i Hilo's Teani Arakawa drove home two goals in the Vulcans' season opening win against UC Colorado Springs, gaining Player of the Week honors.
PLAYER OF THE WEEK
Hawai'i Hilo's Teani Arakawa, F-MF, Jr., Makawao, Hawai'i
The 2023 PacWest Preseason Player of the Year lived up to the hype in Hawai'i Hilo's season opener, a 2-1 win over No. 22 ranked UC Colorado Springs. Teani Arakawa scored both goals for the Vulcans, including the first goal of the match 17 minutes in, and the match winner early in the second half. The Maui native, dating back to last season, has now tallied 20 points in her last eight matches. That doesn't count the four goals that she scored in an exhibition match earlier this season. The South Dakota State transfer was a Second Team All-PacWest and Second Team All-West Region pick in 2022.
DEFENDER OF THE WEEK: CUI's Riley Urquiza, GK, So., Huntington Beach, Calif.
Concordia sophomore keeper Riley Urquiza led a Golden Eagles to a shutout of Western Washington, guiding the defense and making three saves. It was the first time that the Vikings have been shutout since Nov. 13, 2021 (Seattle Pacific, also 4-0). Earlier in the week against nationally ranked CS Los Angeles, Urquiza had a pair of saves in a 1-0 loss and cut off a number of dangerous crosses. The southern California native now has a 0.52 Goals Against Average against two nationally ranked opponents.
TEAM OF THE WEEK: Concordia University Irvine Golden Eagles
The PacWest Team of Week would be the Concordia Golden Eagles. Stung earlier in the week by a 1-0 loss to No. 24 nationally ranked CS Los Angeles, a match in which they outshot their CCAA competitor 13-5, Concordia bounced back big time on Monday. The Golden Eagles, who fell 1-0 in the 2022 NCAA West Region final at Western Washington, scored in the first half and three more times in the second half to bury the national champs in a stunner. CUI had 14 shots to WWU's 5, including nine shots on goal to three. Brianna Guerra got the Golden Eagles on the board first in the 22nd minute, with an assist from Riley Walkington. Walkington added a goal in the 62nd minute, and the Golden Eagles then piled on with a goal in the 64th (Bella Barnett) and again a minute later (65th) by Antonella Russo. "We spoke pregame about responding to adversity," said CUI head coach Chris Gould. "It's great to see the players grab hold of the opportunity presented to them and simply execute. Happy for the team and program, but it's early and we will have to be at our best everyday to maximize our talent."
PACWEST NEWS AND NOTES
Westmont had a nice Division II debut with a 1-0 win over CS San Bernardino on Saturday, just a few days after a tie with Cal Poly Pomona (2-2). The balanced Warriors had goals from three different players to begin their new era in the PacWest...Dominican begins the year 1-1, which includes a 2-0 shutout of CS Dominguez Hills...Academy of Art defeated future PacWest member Jessup, 3-2...Azusa Pacific shutout CS Monterey Bay, 1-0...Point Loma battled No. 24 CS Los Angeles to a 2-2 draw...Ditto for Chaminade in a 0-0 tie with match against Northwest Nazarene, who was picked to finish second in the GNAC...Biola also played even with CS Monterey Bay, 1-1...Academy of Art keeper Kayla Hampton had a very busy and productive day during a 1-0 loss to UC Merced with 11 saves...In today's (Sept. 5) United Soccer Coaches Division II poll, Hawai'i Hilo lists No. 12 and Point Loma is Receiving Votes. Obviously, Monday CUI win was not yet taken into account as the Golden Eagles are missing from the poll.
LOOKING AHEAD
HPU and Chaminade head to the Mountain time zone for their next slate of matches. The Sharks will be in Utah to take on St. Mary's (Tex.) and CUH will venture to Colorado to face Western Colorado and Fort Lewis...On Tuesday, Hawai'i Hilo will face off with Northwest Nazarene on Oahu in a battle of teams picked to finish second in their respective conferences...Both Azusa Pacific and Biola will travel to Sonoma State in key regional match-ups...Point Loma hosts Cal Poly Pomona, and Fresno Pacific will travel south to play the Broncos...On Sunday, Domincan faces predicted CCAA title winner Stanislaus State.
