Senior Day always comes with an inherent mixed blessing and that was fully evident Thursday afternoon in the last home games for the University of Hawaii at Hilo soccer teams.
Senior Day always comes with an inherent mixed blessing and that was fully evident Thursday afternoon in the last home games for the University of Hawaii at Hilo soccer teams.
Playing struggling Holy Names University (2-10-1, 1-6-1 in the Pacific West Conference), at the end of a three-game swing through the islands, the Vulcans’ men’s team closed the day with a turbulent 3-2 win in the second overtime, the goal coming on a header off a free kick by senior Scott Hill with a minute left. That result followed a 2-1 loss by the women’s team, though it finished strong but seemed to run out of time at the end.
“No one ever enjoys going to the other team’s Senior Day,” said UH Hilo soccer director Lance Thompson, “it gives them a lot of extra m motivation, probably even more at the end of a road trip.”
The Vulcans’ men (4-9, 3-5), winners of three in a row, were in control most of the way, going up 2-0 on second-half goals. Jamie Sporadic with a shot that hit the crossbar and came down inside the goal in the 52nd minute, and Cristian Ruelas made it 2-0 in the 56th minute when he was left alone in front of the goal and received the ball on a no-mistake pass from Asa Goldsmith.
Holy Names played the last 25 minutes a man down after a red card to Ignacio Alvarez for denying an obvious goal scoring opportunity, and three minutes before the end of regulation Alfredo Castaneda scored on a nice header.
“We got a little complacent at 2-0,” Thompson said, “then we sort of got panicky at 2-1 before we settled down again.
The Holy Names (5-7, 3-5) women’s team found the islands to be a place of renewal on this three-game trip. The Hawks came in dragging with five consecutive defeats, then lost to BYU-Hawaii 2-1 before a 3-1 victory at Chaminade prior to the flight to the Big Island.
Each of the goals were on the soft side, understandable perhaps when UH-Hilo’s top two goalies are out with injuries. Thompson put Kayla Clarke in the game as a starter just so she could make an appearance in her last home game, then she was quickly replaced by junior Kailah Buchanan.
“We just have to do better on the two we let in,” Thompson said. “We had some poor defending that opened things up before the shots were taken, just poor execution and the kind of thing you hate to see in the last home game.”
Courtney Okazaki opened the scoring in the 31st minute with a bouncing shot that caught Buchanan out of position and went over her head into the goal. Jaclyn Arballo scored on a slow roller in the 55th minute and then UH-Hilo (4-5-3, 3-5), asserted offensive pressure, questioned the Hawks’ defense repeatedly and finally scored on senior Kahri Golden’s goal at 79 minutes, a special goal, as it turned out.
Golden celebrated her 23rd birthday Thursday.
“That was pretty cool,” she said. “I’ve never scored a goal on my birthday before. We’ve had a lot of ups and downs this season and last, but I love these guys and I just wish I could keep playing.”
Golden’s goal tied her with Abcde Zoller, another senior, with two goals each, tops on the team.
“It’s sad the way it worked out,” Zoller said, “but we have more games to play. I’m beyond, way beyond, grateful for all I’ve been given here, I wish there was some way I could just keep going, but honestly, I think the fact that we have more games to play has kept it all from hitting me. I just hope we go out playing with passion and energy.”
All five remaining games for the Vulcans are away from home, starting Tuesday at Point Loma Nazarene, the first of a three-game swing in California.