WAIPAHU, O'ahu, Hawai'i – Two Chaminade University squads were aiming for history on Saturday.
While the women's volleyball team has to wait another week to set a single-season wins record, the men's soccer team accomplished history of their own.
The Silverswords got the game's first two goals from
Noah Mokulehua (Waimanalo, O'ahu, Hawai'i/Kaiser) and
Tyler Ebisuya (Kaneohe, O'ahu, Hawai'i/Iolani) then hung on for a 2-1 win over Hawai'i Pacific University at Waipio Peninsula Soccer Stadium in the season finale.
The victory ended the 'Swords' season at 6-5-2, giving the program its first-ever winning season. Their 5-4-2 Pacific West Conference record also represents the first winning conference record for the team. They also finished sixth in the PacWest standings, their highest finish ever while their 17 conference points is the most-ever in program history.
It's also just their second win over their intercity rivals since the program began playing intercollegiate soccer in 2006 and first over HPU since 2014.
Chaminade also ended the season with three straight wins, tying the program's longest winning streak set in 2014 which also came at the end of that season.
"HPU always fields a very good team and tonight's match was everything as expected," Chaminade head coach
Jayson Abe said. "Two teams battling it out 'til the very end. Our players really pulled together and put forth their best to get the win tonight."
The Sharks fell to 6-10 and 4-7 in the PacWest.
The 'Swords opened the scoring when
Reece Hambly (Birmingham, England/Scottsdale CC/Hagley HS) sent a ball to an open Mokulehua on a breakaway in the 33rd minute. Mokulehua's third goal of the season put Chaminade up 1-0 while Hambly got his fourth assist of the year which is tied for second in a single season.
Chaminade survived a barrage of HPU shots in the first 36 minutes of the second half. Then in the 82nd minute,
Micah Mokulehua (Waimanalo, O'ahu, Hawai'i/Kaiser) retrieved a loose ball and raced down the right sideline. The junior then made a crossing pass toward the left side of the box to Ebisuya who in turn tapped the ball under the hands of Sharks' keeper Max Austli for an insurance goal. It was Ebisuya's second goal of the year while it was
Micah Mokulehua's first assist.
HPU got a goal in the 85th minute to pull within one but Chaminade's defense tightened up and allowed just one HPU shot the rest of the way to secure the win.
Michael Stafford (Honolulu/Iowa Western CC/Kalani) made seven saves while facing 27 HPU shots to pick up the win. The redshirt junior finished the regular season with a 1.399 goals against average which is not only second-best in the PacWest but a program-record low. Chaminade's 1.38 goals allowed per game is also a record low.
Austli faced eight shots with three saves in taking the loss.
Noah Mokulehua and Hambly each attempted a team-best two shots for the 'Swords with the former finishing the season as the team's points leader with eight.
"In many ways, this sums up our season," Abe said. "A little bit of confidence, a buy-in to the system and hard work pays off."
The win also meant that Chaminade claims the winner's points in the men's soccer competition of the PacWest Hawai'i Challenge for the first time in the four-year existence of the Challenge.
