The BYU-Hawaii men’s soccer team played to 1-1 tie Saturday, Nov. 1, against University of Hawaii-Hilo Vulcans in its final home game this season. The game was the last home game for 10 Seasider seniors including: Colby Bauer, Landon Southwick, Michael Moreno, David Urbina, Zak Epplette, Romy Lakip, Chris Toronto, Jace Green, Chad Nahoolewa, and Chris Pineda. This year’s group of seniors represents the most winning group of seniors to play at BYU-Hawaii. The Seasiders had to come back from a slow start as a defensive turnover led to a quick counter attack from the Vulcans that would put UH-Hilo up 1-0. After the goal, UH-Hilo dropped back into a defensive formation hoping to stifle the Seasiders offensive attack. The tactical adjustment seemed to be working until the 25th minute when Bauer scored a header off of a Nahoolewa corner. The Seasiders would continue to maintain possession and try to break down the staunch Vulcan defense. The Vulcans tried to catch the Seasiders with quick counter attacks, but were unsuccessful. “We dominated the possession from the whistle, but when the other team plays with 11 defenders, it makes it tough to get a rhythm and break them down,” said senior Jace Green, a business major from Oregon. Green almost scored off an acrobatic bicycle kick off of another corner kick in the 31st minute, but the shot sailed high. The second half was much like the first half with the Seasiders maintaining of the ball. Junior Matthew Roberts sent a well-placed cross into the box in the 58th minute just a few inches ahead of Green’s foot. The Seasiders would continue to struggle to break down the Vulcan defense as UH-Hilo tried to maintain the tie. “It was not our best performance, but it is hard playing when the other team is content to sit back and play for the tie,” said senior business major, Landon Southwick, from Kaysville, Utah. In overtime, an UH-Hilo player received a red card giving BYU-Hawaii the advantage with 5 minutes left in the game. Another well-placed corner by Nahoolewa found the head of Abe Garcia, but the Vulcan goalkeeper made the foot save to end the game with a 1-1 tie. With the tie, the Seasiders are tied for second with Fresno Pacific at 22 points with a 6-1-4-conference record, 6-5-5 overall. The Seasiders will finish off the regular season at Chaminade on Saturday, Nov. 8. Nahoolewa, a senior studying business from Texas. said, “This team has performed great this season. We were unlucky not to win some games and get a few more points, but overall I feel we played the highest quality football this school has ever had.”
Writer: Matthew Roberts ~ Multimedia Journalist
