KEAAU — A nice afternoon for some outdoor fun turned wet and gloomy Tuesday afternoon at Kamehameha Schools Hawaii, just as the women’s soccer teams from the University of Hawaii at Hilo and Holy Names were ready to engage in a Pacific West Conference match at Paiea Stadium.
KEAAU — A nice afternoon for some outdoor fun turned wet and gloomy Tuesday afternoon at Kamehameha Schools Hawaii, just as the women’s soccer teams from the University of Hawaii at Hilo and Holy Names were ready to engage in a Pacific West Conference match at Paiea Stadium.
Moments later, the whistle blew, the game was underway and a drizzle became a steady, hard rain for a half-hour or so, washing away any hopes for cohesive play from either side at the start, but none of the atmospherics could help the conference cellar dwellers.
Hawaii Hilo used a first half — and first of the season — goal from junior defender Lucy Maino that was all the Vulcans (5-3-1, 2-2-1 PWC) needed in a methodical 2-0 victory over the hapless Hawks (0-8-1, 0-3-1 PWC).
It was the second consecutive win and extended the UHH unbeaten streak to three matches prior to a Saturday game at Hawaii Pacific, a middle-of-the-pack team that played Holy Names to a scoreless draw last Saturday.
“I think both teams really struggled at the start adjusting to the conditions,” said Gene Okamura, who coaches both men’s and women’s teams for UHH. “The ball doesn’t act the same when it’s that wet, it skips and you can’t play it like normal.
“Once (the weather) settled down we got back in our rhythm and did some good things, but it took a while,” he said.
Holy Names scored four goals in eight matches prior to this one, with just four goals so far this season, matching the total of UHH transfer Jaimie Salas and Carlie Reader who got the second goal in the 69th minute on a drive form the goalie’s right that found the far corner of the net.
It was Reader’s second goal in as many games.
The Vulcans had difficulties getting a good ball in front of the net on corner kicks in the first half, but after three failed opportunities, Okamura had junior midfielder Tiera Arakawa take the fourth kick in the 28th minute.
She directed it to senior Kayla Santiago who bumped it over to defender Maino who sent a hard shot from left of center to the far right corner and goalie Alyssa Lopez had no chance.
“It was kind of a surprise, really,” Maino said. “The ball came in to Santi and it kind of hit off the side of her foot, came up and hit me then fell at my feet.”
From there, Maino knew just what to do. She one-timed it with her left foot, hard, into the back of the goal.
“If I’m going to get a goal,” the junior from College of the Canyons in California said, “it’s probably going to be on a corner. If I make a run (from her defender position), I’m probably not going to have enough left at the end to get a good shot off.”
UHH goalie Jenna Hufford had what came as close as you can get to a day off. She had one save in each half in recording her fourth shutout of the season. The Vulcans had 14 shot to 4 for the visitors.
Men
Holy Names 2, UHH 1
The battle from the bottom of the conference continued to frustrate for Hawaii Hilo (0-8, 0-5 PWC), when the Vulcans tried to snap their year-long losing streak against Holy Names (2-6-1, 2-1-1 PWC), but instead continued an uncomfortable pattern of an early lead squandered along the way.
Holy Names came away with a 2-1 win on the strength of a free kick in the 86th minute by Josiah Romero that did in the Vulcans again.
The free kick was set up in front of a tight wall for goalie Nick Williams, but when the ball was struck, the wall opened up and the shot got past the diving Williams.
“We’re right there again,” said UHH coach Gene Okamura, “it’s just some mental lapses and they always seem to come at the worst possible time.
“They all put in the work, there was no lack of effort,” he said, “but we have to play better in crucial situations.”
The Hawks were on the ball most in the first half but the Vulcans had the better opportunities without being able to finish as well as they would have liked.
Hawaii Hilo opened the scoring in the 14th minute with some forceful defense that prevented Holy Names from clearing the ball and Bryan Reynoso was there at the top of the penalty area to drill an unassisted goal past goalie Juan Nieves.
It was the third time this season the Vulcans have held a lead in a game, the first coming at the season opening non conference match at Hawaii Pacific where UHH took an early 1-0 lead before crumbling in a 4-1 defeat to the Sharks, still winless in conference play. The other lead was also 1-0, also in the first half and came in an eventual 3-1 loss to Azusa Pacific.
The Hawks equalized a second or two before the end of the half when Carlos Vazquez-Perez angled in a shot from a sharp angle that got past UHH goalie Nick Williams.
It stayed that way until the final three minutes.
Holy Names had 13 shots to 10 by UHH, Williams made three saves and Nieves made four.