HILO, Hawai'i – No. 21 Hawai'i Hilo clinched a spot in the inaugural Pacific West Conference Championships with a shutout of Fresno Pacific, 3-0, Saturday afternoon at the Vulcan Soccer Field.

Teani Arakawa (8'), Jazlynn Ellis (59') and Shea Christiansen (63') did the scoring for the Vulcans in the victory to join Point Loma in occupying two of the four qualifying spots for the conference postseason tournament. Savina Zamborini, Arakawa and Alyssa Padron were all credited with assists on Hawai'i Hilo's scores.

"We've been putting in the work to put ourselves in the position we want to be to battle for another championship," ninth-year head coach Gene Okamura said. "The team bounced back well from our last game and now we know we'll have much more to go, but we'll get back to work next week and focus on preparing for Chaminade to finish the regular season."

Hawai'i Hilo moved to a 8-1-1 record in the PacWest (11-1-3 overall) as Fresno Pacific moved to a 3-5-1 conference record (4-7-3 overall).

Currently, the Vulcans hold the top position in the standings with 25 points and just one match to go, but PLNU (8-1-0) creeps behind with 24 points and still two more contests to be played.

OTHER NOTES

• Teani Arakawa's three points brings her 2024 total to 25, tying Grace VerHage (2022) for sixth highest in a single season by a Vulcan. Ahead at No. 4 is Arakawa's 2023 season mark of 27 points.
• Alyssa Padron notched career assist No. 11, moving into a three-way tie at No. 4 with Brianna Lopiccolo (11-12) and Daelenn Tokunaga (20-22) in the program record book.
• Jazlynn Ellis slid into the Vulcans top 10 career lists with 13 goals (No. 10) and 34 points (tied at No. 8).
• This was the Vulcans' 12th shutout of the season — third combined between Phoebe Barnes and Kaytlin Blair.

FRESNO PACIFIC UNIVERSITY SUNBIRDS

• NCAA Division II - Pacific West Conference
• Fresno, California
• Head Coach: Jaime Ramirez (34th Season)
• Incoming Record: 4-6-3 (3-4-1 PacWest)
• 2023 Season: 2-13-2 Record (1-7-2 PacWest)

UP NEXT: Senior Night – Saturday, Nov. 9 vs Chaminade at 3:30 PM (Hilo, Hawai'i / Vulcan Soccer Field)

SENIORS (15): Teani Arakawa, Phoebe Barnes, Jacelyn Cambra, Shea Christiansen, Majae De Leon, Jazlynn Ellis, Oceana Garcia, Filippa Graneld, Annie Haglund, Alyssa Padron, Jordan Parrish, Keely Rooker, Samy Sierra, Aubrey Swindle, Savina Zamborini

PACWEST CHAMPIONSHIPS: Top four teams of regular season standings qualify for inaugural PacWest Conference Championships set for Nov. 14-16 (Irvine, California / Orange County Great Park). Newcomers Menlo, Vanguard and Jessup are in Year 2 of a three-year NAIA-NCAA transition period and thus ineligible for postseason play. Concordia, Westmont, Azusa Pacific and Chaminade are still in contention for the remaining two spots.

AMONG THE BEST: In the United Soccer Coaches Division II Rankings released Tuesday morning, Hawai'i Hilo came in at No. 21 in the Top 25 Week 8 Poll. The Vulcans also moved to No. 3 in the West Regional poll.

NCAA WEST REGION: Hawai'i Hilo appeared on the first release of the NCAA Division II Regional Rankings, listing the top 10 teams in each region in alphabetical order. In addition to the three conference champions in the west region (PacWest, GNAC, CCAA), the top four remaining teams in order of the final regional rankings will be selected for further postseason play.