HILO, Hawai'i – Hawai'i Hilo Men's Soccer fell to HPU, 1-0, on Saturday afternoon in Pacific West Conference play at Waipi'o Peninsula Soccer Stadium.
HPU managed to put in the match's only goal in the 71st minute, with Anthony Najafi scoring on a second-chance opportunity off a free kick. Najafi had just entered into the game for the first time about a minute prior to his score.
Hawai'i Hilo played the final eight minutes with 10 players after Yannick Langerhuizen was shown a red card in the 82nd minute.
Diego Bastias made a career-high seven saves (18', 22', 31', 47', 68', 79', 88') in his fourth start of the season as HPU outshot Hawai'i Hilo, 14-7 — seven saves ranks tied for No. 4 in PacWest Conference contests this season.
After Saturday's result, Hawai'i Hilo (1-3-3) is No. 8 in the conference standings with six points. The Vulcans still have a chance to qualify for the four-team PacWest Championships postseason tournament but will need to win their remaining two matches while getting help from favorable results from teams across the league.
GAME NOTES
- Total Shots: Hawai'i Hilo 7, HPU 14
- Total Shots-On-Goal: Hawai'i Hilo 4, HPU 9
- Bastias ranks No. 2 among PacWest goalkeepers in goals-against average (0.86) and save percentage (.786).
- First Career Start: Elmer Chacon
- Both teams have gone 6-6-0 against one another through the last 12 matchups since the 2021 season.
- Hawai'i Hilo: 4-6-3 Overall (1-3-3 PacWest)
- Nickname: Vulcans
- Conference Preseason Poll: No. 3
- Current Conference Standing: No. 8
- NPI Rank (Oct. 11): No. 118
- HPU: 5-5-3 Overall (3-2-1 PacWest)
- Nickname: Sharks
- Waipahu, Hawai'i (O'ahu)
- Conference Preseason Poll: No. 6
- Current Conference Standing: No. T4
- NPI Rank (Oct. 11): No. 127
- Previous Matchup (Aug. 27, 2026): W 2-1 in Hilo (Non-Conference)
UP NEXT
- 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 HAWAI'I CHALLENGE
With the loss on Saturday, Hawai'i Hilo finished its Men's Soccer matchups in the 2026-27 PacWest Hawai'i Challenge with one point after going 0-1-1 against the other two Hawai'i schools. UHH is locked in for either second (earning two overall points) or third place (one overall point). HPU leads the section (two points) and will host Chaminade (one point) on Oct. 31.
The year-long multi-sport leaderboard tracks head-to-head results and conference event results in equally sponsored sports between Hawai'i's three NCAA Division II schools (Chaminade and HPU). The Vulcans captured the 2025-26 competition for a third consecutive year. Full breakdown available at HiloAthletics.com/PWCHI.
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. Eliminated from Contention: Chaminade (0-5-1).
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.
