HONOLULU – The Chaminade University men's soccer team struck early and often then hung on in the final minutes to defeat the University of Hawai'i Hilo Saturday, 4-2, in a Pacific West Conference match at Saint Louis Field.
Four Silverswords found the back of the net to give them their first win of the season at 1-2 and 1-1 in the PacWest.
Jared Rivera (Union City, Calif./Ohlone College/James Logan HS) and
Reece Hambly (Birmingham, England/Scottsdale CC/Hagley HS) scored their first career goals while
Jaewon Huh (Aiea, O'ahu, Hawai'i/Aiea) and
Micah Mokulehua (Waimanalo, O'ahu, Hawai'i/Kaiser) also made successful shots.
Rivera opened the scoring when
Curtis Coburn (Huntington Beach, Calif./Huntington Beach) fired a pass down the middle of the field to freshman
Noah Mokulehua (Waimanalo, O'ahu, Hawai'i/Kaiser). The freshman then headed the ball of Coburn's pass to Rivera who fired a shot over UH Hilo keeper Nick Williams into the net at the 4:45 mark, the sixth-fastest goal in program history.
Less than 10 minutes later, a through-ball by
Davin Garma (Kalaheo, Kaua'i, Hawai'i/Kamehameha-Kapalama) found Huh who put the 'Swords up 2-0 at the 14:01 mark.
Just 55 seconds later, the older Mokulehua headed in a shot after Hambly made a successful centering pass, making it 3-nil Chaminade. The 55-second span marked the fastest consecutive goals in program history, beating the mark of one minute set three times against Southern College (Ariz.) on September 21, 2007.
Chaminade's three first-half goals is tied for the second-most in program history.
The 'Swords seemingly comfortable lead began to erode when the Vulcans scored twice in a four-minute span including a penalty kick which made it 3-2 with less than 10 minutes left.
But Chaminade slammed the door when Hambly received a pass from
Lono Kaialau (Waianae, O'ahu, Hawai'i/Damien) and fired a shot into the goal in the 86th minute.
The 'Swords enjoyed their first four-goal game since Sept. 2016 while their three goals in the first half tied for the second-most in program history.
Chaminade attempted 17 shots to UH Hilo's eight.
Michael Stafford (Honolulu/Iowa Western CC/Kalani HS) earned his first career victory with three saves while Williams took the loss for UH Hilo (1-4, 0-1 PacWest).
The victory also gave CUH two points in the PacWest Hawai'i Challenge.
The two squads meet again next Saturday in a non-conference match at the Kamehameha-Hawai'i School campus.
