By BILL O’REAR
By BILL O’REAR
Tribune-Herald sports editor
University of Hawaii at Hilo men’s soccer coach Ziggy Korytoski has been to the top of the Pacific West Conference mountain and understands where his Vulcans stand and need to go.
On Saturday, conference title contender Cal Baptist University overpowered the Vulcans 4-0 in a match in Riverside, Calif.
“Cal Baptist is the best team in the conference,” Korytoski said. “They’re very talented. Player for player, they’re solid at every position and are a veteran team. We tried to compete with them, but they were just a better team.”
The Lancers (7-2-1 overall, 5-1 PacWest) scored two goals in the first half and added two goals after the intermission to hand UHH (0-8-1, 0-7-1) its third straight loss.
“This was our third game in five days and it was Cal Baptist’s first in five days,” Korytoski said. “I hope the conference makes some changes in its future scheduling, giving everyone a fair deck to play with. But it is what it is and we’ll try to make the best of it.”
Still, playing two of the top teams — Cal Baptist and Grand Canyon (5-1) — in the conference as well as the always tough Dixie State on the Vulcans’ current road trip has been a valuable experience.
“We’ve seen the types of athletes we need to compete at the top level in the PacWest,” Korytoski said. “Our guys have made a commitment to work hard and get better, and in the next two or three years we’re going to get there. But we’re going to need to bring in some juco guys and some transfers to be successful right away.
“This trip has been a great experience because we’ve seen where we are at and where we want to go. I’m excited about it because I’m confident we can get there.”
Cal Baptist controlled Saturday’s match while Lancer goalie Ian Clarke recorded the shutout. Jonathan Fausto scored two goals and Marc Hope and Dominic Escalera each added one.
“They beat us in transition and took advantage of some of our mistakes,” Korytoski said. “Our guys played hard but they were just a better team today. We’ll learn from it.”
The first-year UHH coach praised the play of his goalie, Yonha Adrabi. The 6-foot-2, 185-pound junior had nine saves against Cal Baptist’s high-powered offense.
“Yonha played a fantastic game and we needed every one of his saves,” the Vulcans coach said. “He’s one of the best goal keepers in the conference and has played well for us all year.”
The Vulcan men close their four-match road trip Monday with a game against Point Loma (2-7, 1-6) in San Diego, Calif.
UHH 0 0 — 0
CBU 2 2 — 4
Women
• Cal Baptist 6, UHH 0: Bernadette Witz and Kelly Jenks each scored two goals and Kimberly Allard and Natosha Yanes each had a goal as the Lancers (5-2-1, 4-1) blanked the visiting Vulcans (3-7, 1-6).
Cal Baptist led 2-0 at the half on a pair of Jenks’ goals. The hosts then scored four times in the second half to pull away from UHH. Goalies Rosie Nakata and Leigh Ann Lindsey combined on the shutout.
The Lancers outshot the Vulcans 30-6. UHH goalie Breegan Saller gave up all six goals while registering seven saves.
The UHH women finish their road trip Monday against conference title contender Point Loma (7-2-1, 5-1-1) in San Diego.
UHH 0 0 — 0
CBU 2 4 — 6
Golf
Lady Vuls place fourth
The UHH women’s golf team placed fourth in the St. Martin’s Invitational on Saturday in Olympia, Wash.
Tarleton State claimed the team title in the 10-team NCAA Division II tournament with a 636 total. British Columbia finished second at 660, followed in the top five by Western Washington (663), UHH (664) and St. Martin’s (676).
Tarleton State’s Isabell Jimenez Perea (81-72) captured individual medalist honors with a 153 total.
Sophomores Kristen Sawada (83-81) and Erika Morihiro (84-80) each shot 164s to tie for 10th place individually and lead the Jim DeMello-coached Vulcans. Rounding out UHH’s scoring were: Shannon Abarra (82-84—166, T-14th), Nyssa Aoki (88-83—171, T-22nd) and Kacie Harada (87-86—173, T-25th).