HONOLULU – Twice this season, the Chaminade University women's soccer team has dealt with victories taken away in the waning moments.
A September loss to Stanislaus State and an October draw to Hawai'i Pacific University – both goals coming in 86th minute – were tough pills to swallow.
On Sunday, they experienced what it's like when the shoe is on the other foot.
The Silverswords, scored two goals with under seven minutes remaining to rip victory away from No. 25 Hawai'i Hilo in a 2-2 draw at Saint Louis Field, the team's final game of the season.
Savannah Breeze Miranda (Aiea, O'ahu, Hawai'i/Aiea) had her foot involved in both goals, scoring a highlight reel 60-yard blast then serving up the corner kick on
Kenna Kiefer's (Vail, Ariz./Cienega) goal that helped square the match in the 87th minute.
Chaminade, which enjoyed its first-ever win against a nationally-ranked opponent in its previous match, concluded the season at 7-4-5 on the season, matching the two previous years with the most wins in a season while also claiming an unprecedented third straight winning campaign.
At 5-2-3 in the Pacific West Conference, they also finished fifth with 18 points in the standings.
The Vulcans ended their regular season at 10-2-3 overall and 6-2-2 in the PacWest. UH Hilo, which was on the bubble at sixth in last week's NCAA West Region rankings, will now wait until Monday's NCAA Selection Show to see if they remain at No. 6, which would get them into the field.
With howling sustained winds at around 20-to-25 mph and gusts up to 35, the Vulcans had the wind at their backs in the first half and got an impressive first goal from Jazlynn Ellis in the 31st minute, firing a shot from 40 yards out and just sneaking underneath the crossbar. Ellis made it a 2-0 game with her second goal seven minutes later off a rebounded shot.
However, the Silverswords kept their composure and with a sudden brief downpour and the breeze going into their direction in the final 45 minutes, Breeze made it happen.
In the 83rd minute, the Vulcans attempted to play the ball into their attacking midfield but Miranda retrieved it and blasted a shot just shy of the halfway line. The ball took a large bounce to Vulcans goalkeeper Phoebe Barnes who made a leaping save attempt but it went through her hands and into the goal.
Then in the 87th minute, Miranda fired a corner kick where Kiefer headed the ball inside the right post for the equalizer.
Both teams had one last shot for the winning goal but UH Hilo's Filippa Graneld's shot went wide of the net with two minutes left while Chaminade couldn't connect on another corner kick with a minute remaining.
Haley Mo'okini (San Gabriel, Calif./Gabrielino) had five of the 'Swords' 18 shots with
Naomi Takata (Honolulu/Pearl City) making a season-high eight saves. UH Hilo took 16 shots with Barnes making seven stops.
The draw against another nationally ranked foe was a fitting end to the careers of seniors
Tehani Smith (Kaneohe, O'ahu, Hawai'i/Castle) and Takata, both of whom were with the program during its struggles in the late 2010s but helped it to flourish in the early 2020s.
Smith, in her sixth year of competition with the help of a redshirt season and the extra COVID season, was on the 2018 team that had just one win. An All-PacWest Third Team selection in 2022, the Castle High School graduate wrapped her career eighth in career minutes played with 4,863.
Takata, who also took her season-of-competition waiver for an extra year, departs holding most of the program's career goalkeeping records including wins (25), ties (14), shutouts (20) and goals-against average (1.02).
