HONOLULU – The Chaminade University men's soccer season gets underway Sunday with a rarity in the sport – a doubleheader.
The Silverswords open the season against Whitworth University at Saint Louis Field at 10 a.m. and 12:30 p.m. Both games are exhibitions for the 'Swords and Pirates.
Given the rigors of soccer, playing on consecutive days is almost unheard of nowadays. Two in a single day? Almost impossible. However, fourth-year head coach
Joshua Woodard may have the numbers to pull it off with 31 players on the roster.
Paced by a pair of Owens in
Owen Malone (Carlsbad, Calif./Univ. of Saint Katherine/Carlsbad HS) and
Owen Caba (West Linn, Ore./West Linn), the duo were Chaminade's leaders in goals and assists, respectively, three each in their respective categories.
Caba, the senior midfielder, is approaching several milestones in his final season. He is one assist shy of tying the program's career record of nine held by Colin Roemer. Caba also needs three goals to match Noah Mokulehua's mark of nine and five points away from Roemer's record of 25.
Other key returnees include forward
Kawainui Anderson (Kailua, O'ahu, Hawai'i/Kamehameha-Kapalama), midfielder
Kala'i Duncan (Kapolei, O'ahu, Hawai'i/Kamehameha-Kapalama), midfielder
Kayden Medeiros (Pukalani, Maui, Hawai'i/Western Oregon Univ./Kamehameha-Maui HS), forward
Remo Merlo (Reno, Nev./Remo) and defender
Hunter Santoscoy (Florence, S.C./Union University/West Florence HS).
Chaminade also returns all three goalkeepers, paced by
Jonah Valmonte (Poolesville, Md./Robert Morris University/Poolesville HS) who made 10 starts while
Kili Chappell (Wailuku, Maui, Hawai'i/Stanislaus State/Baldwin HS) had four.
James Boudiette (Tulsa, Okla./Jenks) is the 'Swords' third keeper who is back.
There are 15 newcomers this season, nine of them who have previous collegiate experience, either at other four-year institutions or from the junior college ranks.
The Silverswords, who were picked to finish last in the 13-team Pacific West Conference Preseason Poll, make their first countable game on Thursday, Sept. 11 against Cal Poly Humboldt which will be played at the Waipio Peninsula Soccer Complex auxiliary fields. After their traditional non-conference meeting against Hawai'i Pacific University at Waipio on Sept. 16, Chaminade begins a three-match PacWest road swing starting Sept. 25 at Fresno Pacific, which will be the final meeting between the two programs as conference members (FPU is moving to the CCAA in 2026).
The Silverswords make their Saint Louis Field season debut on Saturday, Oct. 4 against HPU, their only extended home stand of the season. Senior Day will be on Saturday, Oct. 25 against Westmont College.
