Goalkeeper Michael Harre played every minute – almost 1,500 off them – of every match in the 2019 campaign for UH-Hilo men’s soccer team, but such mini-Ironman streaks could be about to go by the wayside.
Even during this shortest of seasons.
The developmental aspects for the Vulcans’ men’s and women’s teams the next four matches are unmistakable. As if working straight from a youth soccer handbook, coaches Paul Regrutto and Gene Okamura say everyone who makes the trip this weekend to Oahu will play.
Not only have they all earned it, but “if you don’t, you miss a real opportunity,” men’s coach Regrutto said.
Sandwiched in between the dejection of a canceled fall season and working toward the hope of a regular one to come in six months, UHH is playing for pride, not a PacWest pod title.
This season doesn’t count toward a year of eligibility for any of the players.
But make no mistake. These matches will “count” to the Vulcans.
“I think they are going to step out and compete like it’s a real game,” men’s coach Regrutto said. “They’re not going to treat it any differently.
“They are going to be looking to validate the work they’ve put in. They want the result, they want a win. They want to say to themselves, we’ve really worked hard, we’ve been disciplined, we’ve been working for a year know since the coronavirus started, they want a win. They want to feel good about themselves and not take it lightly.”
Even the first contest of this spring semester season was postponed by two weeks, so after a wait of some 469 days UHH finally will take the pitch Saturday against Chaminade (men, noon; women, 3 p.m.) at Saint Louis’ field in Honolulu. The Vuls and Hawaii Pacific play at Saint Louis on Sunday, with men’s match starting things off at 11 a.m.
“The energy will be very high because the girls are all excited to be out there and put the uniform on,” Okamura said. “We haven’t seen them playing against an opponent, we’ve only seen them playing themselves. We want to see how players perform under pressure.”
Conceivably, there were a few coaches around the nation who were looking at a tough rebuild and felt they got a reprieve of sorts when the 2020 fall season was canceled. Don’t count Okamura in that group. His 2019 women’s team won its last three matches to finish 6-7-4, and the bulk of his key players were set to return.
“We returned a really good group and we added some quality players,” he said.
Junior Jodi Lillie was a preseason all-PacWest selection after making the first team in 2018 and the second in 2019, and she’ll use these four matches to begin her full-time transition from defense to midfield.
“I think she gave us stability back there, and Jodi can provide a bunch more for us by moving forward,” Okamura said “If we can win the ball higher with her in the midfield, it will help us a lot.”
He’s bringing 20 players to Oahu, including the top two goal scorers from 2019, Nanea Wall and Brenna Rill, as well a fullback Camille Strazzo, a co-captain along with Lillie. Wall, a former Konawaena standout, turned in a fine freshman campaign with five goals, and Rill found the back of the net four times after transferring from Division I Idaho.
Among the players making their debuts will be junior Daelenn Tokunaga, a transfer from the University of Hawaii, while sophomores Taylor Hornburg and Viviana Poli, a transfer from Biola, will vie to take over at goalkeeper.
Regrutto is carrying a 23-player roster this weekend, though the Vuls will be down at least a couple of regulars. Leading returning scorer Henrique Castilho is spending this semester in his native Brazil, and fullback Kealaula Keliikoa is nursing an injury, Regrutto said.
The team nominated two senior co-captains, one a familiar face, former Hilo High standout Kalei Tolentino-Perry, and the other a new one, Germany’s Luca Lippert, a forward and a transfer from Northern Michigan.
“We brought in some goal scorers,” Regrutto said. “Luca, we’re hoping he can put the ball in the back of the net, and we’ve developed some younger guys who will help us score by committee.”
One potential pillar at midfield is senior Bo Antonissen, a Dutchman who started 15 matches last season as the Vuls in 2019 and went 5-11.
If all goes to plan, three Big Islanders will make their Vulcans debuts Saturday: Waiakea alums John Grover and Michael Scott, who was on the roster for two seasons at Colorado State-Pueblo, and former Kealakehe standout Teddy Rubenstein, a transfer from University of Redlands.
Regrutto has been impressed with all three so far in camp, and it sounds like Grover has picked up where he left off last year, when he was the BIIF Division I player of the year and led the Warriors to the title.
“He’s got a lot of potential, smart kid, works hard,” Regrutto said. “If you have the physical attributes and some of the mental gifts that that guy has, you’ve got a bright future.”
UHH’s teams also have a match against Chaminade scheduled for March 13 at Hilo Bayfront, and the hope is that a home match against HPU can be rescheduled as well.