HONOLULU – On Monday, the Chaminade University women's soccer team was hoping for some magic in their final home game of 2021.
The Silverswords held their own against Point Loma, the 17th-ranked team in the United Soccer Coaches Poll, in a 1-0 defeat on Senior Day.
Hailey Clifford accounted for the game's lone score coming in the 70th minute, firing a shot from just inside the upper-right corner of the box.
The match also saw the return of limited spectators with only invited guests of Chaminade seniors allowed to watch from the stands. In all, 55 were on hand to watch the final game of the season at the Saint Louis Field pitch.
The loss dropped the 'Swords to 4-5 overall and 2-3 in the Pacific West Conference. The Sea Lions, who are the two-time defending PacWest champions, improved to 11-0-1 overall and 7-0 in the conference. Point Loma has not lost a PacWest match since October 2017 and is an impressive 31-0-3 since their last conference defeat.
The Sea Lions were able to play keep-away for much of the match, resulting in just three shots for Chaminade.
Playing her final home game, forward
Randi Fontes (Wahiawa, O'ahu, Hawai'i/University of Hawai'i/Pearl City HS), who ranks second in school history in goals with 14 and points with 31, managed to fire off two tries, one being on-goal in the 22nd minute.
Fellow senior
Shayla Padilla (Wahiawa, O'ahu, Hawai'i/Oral Roberts University/Leilehua HS) took the 'Swords other shot which was also on-goal
Although Chaminade's scoring opportunities were few and far between, their defense was solid. The Sea Lions, who entered Monday averaging over 16 shots per game, were held to 10, their fewest in nearly a month. Just 72 hours earlier, Point Loma launched a whopping 32 tries at the net against Hawai'i Pacific University.
Emma Hinson made two stops to earn the win while
Naomi Takata (Honolulu/Pearl City) made four saves.
In addition to Fontes and Padilla, also being honored in their final home games were
Shantel Torres-Benito (Waipahu, O'ahu, Hawai'i/Sacramento State/Iolani HS),
Tiare Kahalewai (Mililani, O'ahu, Hawai'i/Saint Martin's University/Mililani HS) and five-year player
Breanna-Leigh Bactista (Mililani, O'ahu, Hawai'i/Mililani).
The Silverswords will finish the season on the road where they will five chances to surpass the program's single-season wins record as well as an opportunity for Fontes to tie or break the points and goals record. The 'Swords open the road trip Saturday at Dominican University of California.
