The UH-Hilo men’s soccer team is heading home to the Big Island still searching for its first victory.
The UH-Hilo men’s soccer team is heading home to the Big Island still searching for its first victory.
Despite goals from freshman Daniel Baumgartner and sophomore Trenton Hooper, the Vulcans finished a season-opening stretch in Nampa, Idaho, with a 4-2 loss to Northwest Nazarene.
“I was proud with how we never gave up and kept fighting,” coach Gene Okamura said on the UH-Hilo website. “That is a very good and very experienced team.”
The host Crusaders (3-1) returned 13 players from a squad the finished 12-6-1 last season, placing third in the Great North Athletic Conference.
The Vulcans (0-3) fired seven of their 14 shots on goal.
Trailing 4-0, Baumgartner collected a rebound off his own shot and tallied his first college goal. Benjamin Siemers assisted on Hoopers’ tally in the 90th minute.
Northwest Nazarene finished with 18 shots, putting 11 on frame.
Goalkeepers Cassidy Dixon and Joshua Jasper each played a half and allowed two goals.
In their PacWest opener, the Vulcans welcome Chaminade at 12:30 p.m. Saturday at Kamehameha.