The one goal the UH-Hilo men’s soccer team allowed Friday was the kind of score soccer director Lance Thompson doesn’t think the Vulcans will allow often this season.
The one goal the UH-Hilo men’s soccer team allowed Friday was the kind of score soccer director Lance Thompson doesn’t think the Vulcans will allow often this season.
But Northwest Nazarene was rewarded for shooting, which is not something Thompson could say for his team.
Alex Mitrovic’s goal Friday tagged the Vulcans with a 1-0 loss in Waipahu, Oahu, but all-in-all, Thompson came away encouraged by his team’s effort in its opener.
“We played well,” he said. “We just need to shoot more.”
Northwest Nazarene held an 11-2 advantage in shots. This was the Crusaders’ opener as well, though Thompson pointed out Northwest Nazarene, coming off its first Division II NCAA tournament appearance, had the advantage of playing a pair of scrimmages.
That might have made the difference in the 33rd minute, when the Crusaders played a restart into the box. The Vulcans cleared it out initially, but didn’t press enough, Thompson said, allowing Northwest Nazarene to score.
“It was one of those where everything had to go right for them and everything had to go wrong for us,” Thompson said. “But it went in.”
The Vulcans were playing without one of their top strikers. Alejandro Patino missed the match with a quad pull.
The Vuls play Cal State Monterey Bay at 3 p.m. Saturday.
“I can tell we are going to be very competitive this season,” Thompson said.