Just past the halfway point of the season, the University of Hawaii at Hilo women’s soccer team may have found a more successful formula Saturday afternoon when the Vulcans recorded their first come-from-behind victory of the season, a 2-1 decision over Dominican University.
Just past the halfway point of the season, the University of Hawaii at Hilo women’s soccer team may have found a more successful formula Saturday afternoon when the Vulcans recorded their first come-from-behind victory of the season, a 2-1 decision over Dominican University.
Playing without their top to goalkeepers — missing in action with a concussion and knee injury — UH-Hilo soccer director Lance Thompson called on junior Kailah Buchanan for emergency duty and she got the job done.
In the process of deciding how to adjust without his top two goalies, Thompson had a team meeting Friday and essentially shook up the tactics he has employed this season.
“The direction is good, I was impressed,” Thompson said. “We had a talk and the play we saw today showed it was worth our time.”
Nicole Rascon’s first goal of the season got the job done for the Vulcans in the 84th minute to improve their record to 3-4 in Pacific West Conference play in the middle game of a three-game home stretch. Dominican’s record fell to 4-3.
It also snapped a three-game losing streak in which UH-Hilo was unable to score a goal, and while putting the ball in the back of the opponents’ goal tends to solve a lot of problems, the Vulcans were also tough defensively, dominating possession in the second half, rallying around the efforts of Annabel Gonzalez, a junior from Burbank, Calif.
“Basically our talk was about playing more as a team,” Gonzalez said of the Friday conversation. “We had been playing indifferent levels, forwards, midfield and in the back but we are playing more of an open concept, that we feel more comfortable in.”
Opening with second-half pressure, the Vulcans created mayhem on a corner kick two minutes in with a wild scramble in front of the Dominican goal but the ball couldn’t find its way through the congestion. In the 50th minute, the Vulcans had a throw-in near the end line that surprised goalie Gabriella Tassano minutes later but a Penguins defender kicked it out of trouble.
In the 60th minute, leading scorer Abcde Zoller nearly scored from an angle but the rebound caught the Vulcans out of position and and Lily Dubuc overlapped from her defender position down the right wing to sneak a hard shot past Buchanan on the short side for a 1-0 lead.
Zoller evened the score with a deft touch from 10 yards that got past Tassano in a flash in the 66th minute.
UH-Hilo maintained its pressure and was inches from the lead in the 68th minute when freshman Leighana Weaver struck the post with a header from an angle to the right of the goal.
The Vulcans outshot the Penguins in both halves — something else it hasn’t done a lot this season — finishing with a 12-7 advantage.
Next up for the Vulcans is the final home game of the season, Thursday at 12:30 p.m. against Holy Names, and it could mean more than just the last game of the year in Hilo.
“Our next game is huge,” said Gonzalez, “it will define how we play for the rest of the year, it’s pretty exciting.”