LAIE, O'ahu, Hawai'i – The Chaminade University men's soccer team opened the 2016 season by falling to BYU-Hawai'i, 2-1, in a non-conference matchup Tuesday at BYUH Soccer Field.
Jake McRae, a Preseason Pacific West Conference First Team selection and last year's conference Newcomer of the Year, scored twice in the second half to power the Seasiders (1-0-1).
Freshman
Micah Mokulehua accounted for the Silverswords' only goal as the loss spoiled the head coaching debut of Chaminade head coach
Jayson Abe.
The 'Swords (0-1) started seven newcomers including six freshman while the Seasiders is also experiencing a youth movement with seven starting freshman.
Chaminade struck first in the 32
nd minute as
Guilherme Aires fired a shot which was saved by BYUH goalkeeper Dwayne Wittman. However the ball caromed off Wittman where Mokulehua, a Kaiser High School graduate, was there to fire in the put-back for his first career goal on his first collegiate shot attempt.
The score remained 1-0 until the 47
th minute when McRae headed in a corner kick past 'Swords keeper
Bernd Buescherhoff to knot the score. McRae struck again less than 20 minutes later on a pass from Cutter Zaugg to put BYUH ahead, 2-1.
Chaminade had several chances to square the game but a
Yoshinori Tamukai header was off target in the 71
st minute then Aires' desperation shot with just nine seconds left was stopped by Wittman to preserve the game.
BYUH out-shot Chaminade, 13-7, and also had a decided advantage in corner kicks, 8-1.
Wittman (1-0) earned the win while Buescherhoff (0-1) was tagged with the loss.
The Silverswords return to action Saturday when they face Hawai'i Hilo in another non-conference game at the Kamehameha-Hawai'i campus on the Big Island.
