With less than a week remaining in the 2023 regular season, the Chaminade University women's soccer team was still in contention for the Pacific West Conference's automatic bid to the NCAA Division II Tournament. But the dominos did not fall in place down the stretch in the search for their first-ever postseason bid.
But it clearly established the Silverswords as legitimate contenders in the PacWest. With their third straight winning season, it also sent a message that their success is sustainable. No message was louder than two wins and a draw against the top three teams in the conference standings.
During the tenure of 11th-year head coach
Michelle Richardson, the 'Swords were long-known for their stifling defense. That scenario didn't change in 2023, finishing fourth in goals allowed with 15. For senior
Naomi Takata (Honolulu/Pearl City), she had seven wins, five ties and a 0.94 goals-against average in 2023, her third such average under 1.00. Those numbers finally helped her earn All-PacWest honors for the first time, earning third team kudos.
During her stellar five-year, Takata concluded her career holding most of the school's goalkeeping records including wins (25), clean sheets (20), GAA (1.03) and saves percentage (.787).
Along with their usual stout defense, Chaminade set a program record with 20 goals, breaking the previous mark of 19 set twice in 2022 and 2017. Half of the goals were the responsibility of returnees
Haley Mo'okini (San Gabriel, Calif./Gabrielino) and
Savannah Breeze Miranda (Aiea, O'ahu, Hawai'i/Aiea) while the other half were from newcomers.
Mo'okini was among the conference leaders with seven goals and four game-winning goals while Miranda added three more scores.
Freshman
Kenna Kiefer (Vail, Ariz./Cienega) finished second on the team with four goals while junior college transfer
Delaney Buntin (Vail, Ariz./Pima CC/Cienega HS) had three more.
Kylie Ifuku (Honolulu/Kaiser),
Shaley Mercado (Honolulu/Kaiser) and
Alexys Taira (Waipahu, O'ahu, Hawai'i/Pearl City) each scored single goals during the year.
Among their seven wins and five draws, three results drew much attention: their wins over Point Loma and Concordia University Irvine and their draw against Hawai'i Hilo, which finished 1-2-3 in the PacWest standings, respectively.
No one knew it at the time but Chaminde's 2-1 win on Oct. 16 would be the final loss of the season for Point Loma, which went on to capture the NCAA Division II national championship.
With just over a week remaining in the season, the Silverswords pulled off their biggest upset in program history, stunning fifth-ranked Concordia, the team's first win over a nationally-ranked opponent. It also put them into the postseason conversation if they got a little help from others.
Although the help didn't arrive, the 'Swords ended the season with a flurry. Trailing the No. 25 Vulcans 2-0, Miranda and Kieffer each scored with under six minutes left to force a 2-2 draw, a rather fitting way to end their year.
Along with Takata, All-PacWest honors went to Mo'okini and Buntin with the former named to the second team while Buntin, like Takata, was voted to the third team.
Takata and
Tehani Smith (Kaneohe, O'ahu, Hawai'i/Castle), who like Takata played five seasons, were the team's two seniors.
