There's an old sports analogy: There's nowhere to go, but up. That is certainly the case for the 2013 Chaminade women's soccer team.
The Silverswords went 0-15-1 in 2012 and are currently on a 29-match winless streak dating back to September 2011. But a closer look reveals that several matches were a lot closer than the final scores indicated; the Swords lost five contests by two goals or less. Their only tie came in the season finale against BYU-Hawai'i, which earned the Pacific West Conference's automatic bid to the NCAA Division II playoffs.
With 14 returnees from last season and a new head coach, the Swords are looking to stay out of the cellar. There are optimistic expectations for the team, despite the PacWest poll predicting them to finish last in 2013.
Forward Twyla Hamasaki was a force for CUH as a freshman last season, scoring four goals and recording two assists. Her 10 points in 2012 is the second-highest in program history.
Also returning is sophomore goalkeeper, Lauren Ishii, who recorded a 72.0 save percentage last season, third-best in Swords women's soccer history.
Chaminade has a plethora of upperclassmen returning, nine in all. Four seniors, including Jill Hara, Shayla Hosaka, Kristy Iwahashi and Kristen Tatemichi have all seen significant time during their careers. Five juniors return including Roni Hewett, Alyssa Nagai, Katlyn Powell, Christina Saturnio and Shannon Wright, who led the team in points as a freshman in 2011.
They will be led by new head coach Michelle Richardson, who has nearly 20 years of coaching experience in both Hawai'i and in Northern California. She's been a head coach for 14 years and most recently, achieved success as the girls' varsity coach at Kalani High School, guiding the Falcons to back-to-back O'ahu Interscholatic League Eastern Division titles in 2009-10. Richardson's 2010 team was the OIA Red (Division I) runner-up and finished third in the Hawai'i High School Athletic Association Division I State Tournament.
Add to the mix several talented freshman and the Swords have the makings to avoid the conference basement for the first time since 2010.
Chaminade opens the season tomorrow in a non-conference match at PacWest foe Hawai'i Pacific at HPU's Atherton Field in Kaneohe. Kick-off is set for 12:30 p.m. The Swords open their home schedule on Monday, Sept. 9 against Cal State San Bernardino at St. Louis Field with a 10 a.m. start.
