HONOLULU – The Chaminade University men's soccer team took on their intercity rivals, Hawai'i Pacific University, Saturday but lost 3-1 at Saint Louis Field.
The Sharks scored three straight goals after the Silverswords took an early lead in the first half.
The loss dropped the 'Swords to 3-8-2 overall and 2-7-2 in the Pacific West Conference as they played in rainy conditions for the second consecutive match. The Sharks improved to 5-8-3 and 3-7-2 in the conference.
Curtis Coburn (Huntington Beach, Calif./Huntington Beach) scored on a header from an assist off a corner kick by
Nick Kraus (Torrance, Calif./South) in the 22
nd minute to give Chaminade a 1-0 lead. It was Coburn's second goal of the year and Kraus' first assist.
But the Sharks got the tying goal 10 minutes later from Michael Steele who stole the ball from CUH goalkeeper
Bernd Buescherhoff (Steinfeld, Germany/Gymnasium Lohne) just yards away from the net. HPU took the lead just three minutes later on Paul Enzingmueller's shot that went past Buescherhoff who came charging in to stop the ball.
Chaminade's best chances for the equalizer came in the 53
rd and 54
th minutes.
Makoto Shoji (Okinawa, Japan/Rio Hondo College) fired a shot which was saved by HPU keeper Chandler Schur at the 53:38 mark. Thirty seconds later, Coburn nearly got his second header goal off another Kraus corner but Schur was there for the stop.
Avinash Singh (Pukalani, Maui/Kamehameha-Maui) attempted a header of his own at 54:38 but the shot caromed off the crossbar.
Coburn and Shoji each had four shots with Shoji getting three on-goal and Coburn two.
Coburn's goal also gave him seven career scores, tying him with Dayton Sato for third in program history. The sophomore needs just three to pass Sam Galloway as the all-time leading goal scorer.
Both squads had ample shots with CUH taking 15 and HPU 14. Seven of the 'Swords' corners came in the second half as opposed to the Sharks' six total.
HPU's win, along with their victory over Hawai'i Hilo earlier this season, assures them of picking up the three first-place points in the men's soccer section of the PacWest Hawai'i Challenge.
The 'Swords will return to the Saint Louis Field pitch for a final time Thursday when they host Fresno Pacific with a 12:30 p.m. kickoff. It will be Senior Day and the team will honor seniors Buescherhoff, Shoji, Singh,
Tyler Braunthal (Pearl City, Hawai'i/Mililani),
Jaewon Huh (Aiea, Hawai'i/Aiea) and
Ruben Taks (Vught, The Netherlands/UNC Pembroke).
