Certain interested if not antsy spectators showed up to sneak a peek Sunday at UH-Hilo’s men’s soccer match.
A few players on the women’s soccer team hung out by the fence on the far side of the baseball field, and then more gathered until there was a group. Finally, coach Gene Okamura had to break up the Vulcans, shooing them away.
A school rule may limits attendance, but the Vulcans’ zeal to get in on the action was understandable.
“We’re excited to finally play someone other than ourselves,” junior forward Daelenn Tokunaga said Tuesday in a phone interview.
After a 13-day break that came just as the team was heating up, UHH (3-2) hosts Azusa Pacific (5-2) as part of a Pacific West Conference doubleheader. The men’s match is at 2:30 p.m., but it’s ladies first at noon Wednesday as UHH’s burgeoning lethal transfer striker makes her home debut.
Okamura heralds Tokunaga for her soccer passion.
“I enjoy playing soccer, and it’s one of the few things that makes me genuinely confident in myself,” Tokunaga said.
After getting herself acclimated with the program during the four-match spring season, Tokunaga’s confidence on the pitch has been evident. She leads conference teams in goals with five in five matches – Azusa has two players with three goals in seven matches – including two goals apiece in the last two matches as UHH rides in on a three-game winning streak.
“I think the last three games, I’m finally starting to find my groove, and put goals away,” she said. “I’m feeling more comfortable taking people on and also taking shots.”
The scoring infusion – Tokunaga is responsible for more than half of UHH’s nine goals – has provided a much-needed lift for the program. Tokunaga’s next goal will be the highest for UHH in a season since Kristine Pasek scored six in 2014.
“When we brought her in, we thought she was going to produce and do the things she’s doing now,” Okamura said.
Tokunaga’s not doing it alone.
“We’re trying to play for each other, not just with each other,” she said.
And there was a time she thought she’s be doing this elsewhere.
The former Pearl City (Oahu) standout – the Chargers won the HHSAA Division I title in 2015, her freshman season – originally committed to play Division I college soccer at Saint Mary’s (Calif.) before deciding to stay home and play for UH-Manoa.
“Growing up in Hawaii, I feel like it’s every girls dream to go there, but it was so hard to make a decision at such a young age,” she said.
Playing time didn’t appear to be much of an issue with the Rainbow Wahine. Tokunaga played in 34 matches combined in 2018 and ‘19, starting 11 and scoring two goals her freshman season.
“I wasn’t very happy, the style of play was not for me, personally,” she said.
Okamura’s approach is more her style.
“I wanted a coach that I would like,” she said. “I wanted to have fun with it, because I know these will be my last years of playing soccer.
“In D-I, they pressure you to perform,” she said. “D-II (college soccer) it’s still competitive, but its not as competitive.”
That’s to not say Tokunaga – an aspiring police officer and self-described home body – doesn’t feel pressure, but it comes internally.
There was no pressure, she said, when UH-Hilo took on UH-Manoa in the spring and played to a draw.
“I wish we played them this season,” she said. ‘They are a different team, but so are we. Honestly, I think we can compete with a lot of D-I schools.”
Maybe next season?
For now, it’s feet first into the Pacific West Conference season.
“I hope we can take it one game at a time and win our conference,” she said. “That’s our goal, to make it to the NCAA tournament. We think it’s attainable. That’s what we are striving for.”
