HONOLULU – The Chaminade University men's soccer team opened Pacific West Conference action Wednesday with a 3-2 win over visiting Academy of Art at Saint Louis Field.
The afternoon saw many firsts:
- The Silverswords' first home match of 2022.
- Chaminade's first victory both overall and in the conference.
- And first-year head coach Joshua Woodard's first career win.
Ian Inigo (Houston/Bridgeland),
David Kurihara (Mililani, O'ahu, Hawai'i/Hanalani) and
Joaquin Maud (Cordoba, Argentina/Coronado) each found the net for the Silverswords who improved to 1-3-1 overall and 1-0 in the PacWest.
Inigo put Chaminade on the board first in the 25th minute, heading in a pass from
Alessio Franco (Guadalajara, Mexico/East Grand Rapids, Mich.), the first two points in the collegiate careers of both freshmen.
But the Urban Knights (3-5-1, 0-1 PacWest) countered less than 10 minutes later when Gilly Miller hit a squibber that resembled more of a topped golf shot at a driving range. But the ball was perfectly placed to Elvis Mensah who slipped past a wave of CUH defenders and chipped to square the game.
The 'Swords would regain the lead in the 60th minute when during a scrum in front of the ART U net, Kurihara was in the right place at the right time, firing a shot that deflected off a defender for his first career goal.
Maud then added his first score of the season, heading in a
Reilly Minigutti (Brooklyn, N.Y./Richmond Int'l Academic and Soccer Academy/Dallas Jesuit HS) corner kick in the 76th minute.
Maud's goal ended up playing a crucial role when the Urban Knights found the back of the net in the 88th minute to close to within a score.
However, the 'Swords defense managed to stave off several ART U threats in the final two minutes.
Chaminde finished with 10 shots with six on-goal while Academy of Art had 11 looks, also six on-goal.
Brandon Yasue (Honolulu/Kaiser) stopped four ART U shots to earn the win while his counterpart, Davis King, had three saves.
The Silverswords return to action Saturday when they face Dominican University of California at the Saint Louis Field pitch. Kickoff is set for 2:30 p.m.
