COSTA MESA -- The first of three Pacific West Conference games this week for Vanguard women's soccer did not end as intended, as the Blue and Gold fell to the Vulcans of Hawaii Hilo 3-2. The Lions dropped to 3-5-1 overall and 1-1 in PacWest action, while UHH went to 4-2-2, 1-0-1.
What Happened? With the Vulcans entering on short rest and a draw with CUI, Vanguard sensed a chance to pounce, and they were rewarded with two early goals.
Kalena Yamashita advanced into the action from the left side, and
Abby Trujillo fed her a pass from just outside the 18-yard box. Yamashita took one touch to improve her angle and blasted her first career goal into the net to put VU up 1-0 in the fifth minute. VU continued to control the flow of the game after the goal, and
Jennifer Alvarez and Trujillo each had two shots over the next 14 minutes, but only the first attempt from Trujillo forced a save. But the constant attack paid off again, as in the 20th minute,
Kate Burns whipped in a corner kick that Trujillo polished off into the net to send the hosts ahead 2-0.
The Vulcans had three corner kicks but no shots in the half until UHH got two shots around the 27th minute, but
Grayton Normand did not have to make a stop. Unfortunately, those swipes at goal christened an upswing by the Vulcans, who negated the VU press and started to find cracks in the armor. Hilo scored in the 42nd and 45th minutes, both from corner kicks, to level the game at 2-2 before the buzzer sounded on the first interval.
The Lions held an 8-6 edge in shots at the break and put up eight more in the second frame, but it was not to be for VU. The Vulcans dumped a ball over the top of the Vanguard defense just over four minutes into the new frame, and the attacker got taken down on a tackle in the box in front of Normand. A penalty was called, and UHH converted the ensuing PK to pull themselves to a 3-2 lead.
It was still within reach for Vanguard, as the Vulcans stilled had breakdowns in the midfield, but the VU offensive creation never led to a grade-A scoring chance. Alvarez had the closest attempt in the 55th minute, as her shot from around 30 yards forced a last-second punch over the bar by the UHH goalie. But after that, the Vulcan keeper made comfortable saves on efforts by Alvarez and Burns, and the other shots by the Lions did not hit the target, as Hilo grabbed its first conference win.
Alvarez led all players with six shots and had two go on target, with Trujillo next with three. Yamashita and
Naia Kaulukukui each had two shots.
What's Next? The Lions play the Chaminade on Thursday at 1:00 p.m.
