The Hawaii Pacific women’s soccer team was off to a shaky start losing their first 3 games and tying their 4th game. They had the challenge of going up against their cross town rivals, Chaminade University. Chaminade came into this game with a 2-1 record with Hawaii Pacific as the slight underdog. The match started slowly with a lot of back and forth and empty passes. Chaminade only attempted 1 shot in the first half and Hawaii Pacific only attempted 2. There was not a whole lot of action in the first half with the score being 0-0. The second half brought more excitement. The HPU Sharks came out with a chip on their shoulder and were a lot more aggressive than in the first half. Chaminade also came out with a little fire under them with both sides having more shot attempts in the first 20 minutes than the whole first half. While none of the attempted shots were going in, the competition was still enjoyable to watch as it was a defensive chess match. Just as you thought there was an easy goal, the defenders of the opposing team came souring out of nowhere to contest the shots. In the 77th minute HPU scored a goal by Senior Forward, Mahena Ortiz. With 13 minutes left in the match the Sharks had to hold on tight to their 1-0 lead in order to get their first victory of the season. It was a grueling and intense 13 minutes but you could tell that the momentum shifted towards the Sharks and Chaminade already felt defeated. The final seconds of the game ran down and the Sharks held onto their 1-0 lead giving them their first win. “It is always fun to beat your cross town rivals, it wasn’t pretty but a win is a win”-Elise Borys
The Sharks continue their season in hopes to ride the momentum and beat University of Hawaii-Hilo this Saturday.
