SAN DIEGO, California - Hawai'i Pacific opened PacWest conference play with a statement, knocking off Point Loma, 2-1, on Saturday afternoon at PLNU Soccer Field. The win moves Hawai'i Pacific to 3-3-2 on the season and 1-0-0 in conference play.
The match began physical early on, beginning with Point Loma's Evan Youngflesh and HPU's
Alex Arguijo being issued red cards in the 30th minute, reducing both sides to 10 players for the remainder of the match. The chippy first frame concluded with seven total fouls between the two squads. Sharks goalkeeper
Eduardo Marin made two saves in a scoreless opening half that saw Point Loma hold a 6-3 edge in shots.Â
Hawai'i Pacific broke through in the 51st minute, as
Pedro Ashley scored unassisted to give the Sharks a 1-0 lead. Point Loma answered in the 64th minute on a goal from Simon Sagal to tie the match at 1-1. Hawai'i Pacific regained the lead for good in the 70th minute when
Danny Pascanu scored unassisted to make it 2-1, the eventual final score.
Point Loma out-shot Hawai'i Pacific 11-7 on the afternoon, with a 3-4 edge in shots on goal for the Sharks. Marin finished with two saves across the full 90 minutes to secure the win.
Hawai'i Pacific was whistled for 12 fouls to Point Loma's five in a chippy affair that produced two red cards as stated earlier and three yellow cards. Point Loma held a 9-7 edge in corner kicks.
Hawai'i Pacific continues PacWest play on the road against Biola on Monday, Sept. 28, at 7:00 p.m. in La Mirada, California.
