HILO, Hawai'i – Hawai'i Hilo Men's Soccer answered back twice, responding to Westmont's go-ahead goal with an equalizer six minutes later to play to a 2-2 tie on Thursday afternoon in Pacific West Conference play at the Vulcan Soccer Field.
After 45 minutes of facing a 1-0 deficit (16th-minute goal by Westmont's Cooper Mathews), Jordi Pineda answered in the 61st minute for his first Vulcans goal, finishing off assists from Kristijan Bandur and Dylan Flores (first career point) to even the match at 1-1. The Vulcans quickly flipped a Westmont throw-in, as Elmer Chacon (in his second career game) won the one-on-one battle for the ball to start the three-punch combo.
Westmont managed to regain the lead on Luis Cortes' score in the 73rd minute, but Hawai'i Hilo needed just six minutes to respond. Yoke Duku tied the match at 2-2 in the 79th minute, finishing a ping-pong sequence off a long throw-in from Kalen Toguchi that Jakob Santiago headed on and Duku headed back across, from the right side into the left part of the goal.
The draw earned one point for the Vulcans as they are now tied for No. 7 in the PacWest Conference standings (six total points) with three contests remaining — tied with Concordia (2-3-0).
GAME NOTES
- Total Shots: Hawai'i Hilo 5, Westmont 13
- First Half Total Shots: Hawai'i Hilo 2, Westmont 2
- Second Half Total Shots: Hawai'i Hilo 3, Westmont 11
- Diego Bastias made two saves in his third career start for the Vulcans, marking his first time starting in consecutive matches.
- It was the second time this season Duku scored in the final stretch of a contest — 78th-minute game-winner against HPU in the Vulcans' season opener at home.
- Hawai'i Hilo: 4-5-3 Overall (1-2-3 PacWest)
- Nickname: Vulcans
- Conference Preseason Poll: No. 3
- Current Conference Standing: No. T7
- NPI Rank (Oct. 11): No. 118
- Westmont: 5-6-5 Overall (3-1-2 PacWest)
- Nickname: Warriors
- Santa Barbara, California
- Conference Preseason Poll: No. 5
- Current Conference Standing: No. 3
- NPI Rank (Oct. 11): No. 104
- Thursday's match was Oktoberfest, with fans treated to a free root beer float.
UP NEXT
- Saturday, Oct. 17 (3 PM) at HPU (Waipahu, Hawai'i)
- Wednesday, Oct. 21 (3 PM) vs Jessup (Vulcan Soccer Field)
- Monday, Oct. 26 (3 PM) vs Dominican (Vulcan Soccer Field)
VULCAN CHALLENGE
Hawai'i Hilo Athletics has launched its annual Vulcan Challenge, a month-long fundraising campaign running from Sept. 21 through Oct. 23 to support scholarships, travel, training and other essential resources for the Vulcans' 12 NCAA Division II teams. To support, visit HiloAthletics.com/VC.
PACWEST CONFERENCE CHAMPIONSHIPS
The top four teams in the conference standings will qualify for the 2026 PacWest Championships, hosted by Dominican on Nov. 5-7 in San Rafael, California. The Vulcans finished as runner-up at last year's PacWest Championships. Hawai'i Hilo was voted No. 3 earlier in this year's conference preseason coaches poll.
