The University of Hawai’i at Hilo Women’s Soccer team is two weeks away from kicking off the 2023 season and will have nine new additions as part of the incoming class comprised of six transfers and three freshmen.
Of the incoming transfers — three of which were mid-year enrollees this past spring semester — four are arriving from Division-I programs while the remaining two are coming from the California Collegiate Athletic Association. As a whole, 17 players on the roster have transferred in from a previous school.
The back-to-back defending Pacific West Conference Champions will be replacing 12 departed players — nine to graduation/eligibility exhaustion — from the 2022 squad that went 13-1-3 with a finish in the NCAA West Regional Second Round.
The 2023 team will be heavy-loaded on upperclassmen with 13 players classified as a senior and seven as a junior, leaving just seven underclassmen (three sophomores and four freshmen).
Head coach Gene Okamura will be entering his eighth season in charge of the Vulcans Women’s Soccer program.
The Vulcans will host Multnomah University at 3 p.m. on Aug. 23 for their first game of the Fall 2023 season.
They will kick off PacWest play on Sept. 19 with a home test against HPU.
Transfers
Jazzlynn Ellis is a junior defender and forward who transfered from University of Illinois Chicago in Spring of 2023. She played in five games with one start for the Flames, and is a graduate of Ponderosa HS in Parker, Colo.
Majae De Leon is a senior transfer and defender from Cal State East Bay. She played in 29 games with ten starts for the Pioneers, and even played against the Vulcans during the Fall 2021 season. She graduated from Franklin HS in Elk Grove, Calif. in 2020, and was a 2017 NPL National Champion.
Oceana Garcia, another senior transfer, was a defender and forward for Long Island University. She played in 21 games with 13 starts for the Sharks. She graduated from La Cueva HS in Albuquerque, N.M. in 2020 and was part of her school’s 2017 6A State Champion team.
Jordan Goularte is a senior midfielder and forward who transfered from Sacramento State, where she played in 35 games with eight starts. While playing for the Hornets, she scored the lone goal of an eventual overtime penalty kicks loss to Weber State during the 2022 Big Sky Conference Tournament quarterfinals.
A 2020 graduate of Miramonte HS in Pinole, Calif. — her high school team was the 2019-20 CIF North Coast Section Champion and Northern California Champion.
Phoebe Barns is a junior transfer and goalkeeper from Sonoma State, where she started 26 of 29 total matches and made three saves against UH-Hilo during the 2021 NCAA West Regional First Round.
She finished her time with the Seawolves with 82 saves, 11 shutouts and a 14-8 record — notching her current career-high 11 saves during a match against Western Washington in 2021.
Myah Patterson is a redshirt freshman transfer from Loyola University Chicago. The defender has not played a college match yet, but played four seasons on the Liberty HS (Colorado Springs) varsity team, where she earned two All-State Team placements and three All-Conference Team placements.
Freshmen
Kalaya Havellana is an incoming freshman and defender from Oceanside, Calif. At El Camino HS, she played four seasons of varsity soccer and was the 2022-23 Avocado League Player of the Year.
“As a Hawaiian who has never had the opportunity to live in Hawai’i, it has been my dream to play for Hawai’i since I was eight years old,” Havellana said in a UH-Hilo press release. “When I came for a visit and met with coach Okamura and the girls on the team, it just felt like the perfect fit for me. I cannot wait to play with this amazing team and do everything I can to help with another winning season.”
Kalani Gonzales graduated Spring of 2023 from Montgomery HS in Santa Rosa, Calif. The midfielder played four years of varsity soccer and was an All-League Oak Division Second Team selection.
Jaden Morgan, also a midfielder, graduated this year from Santa Margarita Catholic HS in Rancho Santa Margarita, Calif.
She played two seasons of varsity and her team was the 2022-23 Trinity League Champion, CIF Division I Southern Section Champion and CIF Regional Champion.