LIHU‘E — Chance Bukoski scored the only goal in Hawai‘i Pacific University’s 1-0 win over Dixie State College Thursday in St. George, Utah. The win comes on the heels of the latest NSCAA Regional Poll, in which the HPU men’s
LIHU‘E — Chance Bukoski scored the only goal in Hawai‘i Pacific University’s 1-0 win over Dixie State College Thursday in St. George, Utah.
The win comes on the heels of the latest NSCAA Regional Poll, in which the HPU men’s soccer team received a No. 7 ranking in an announcement made Thursday by the National Soccer Coaches Association of America.
The West Region ranking is the highest ever for the HPU men’s soccer program.
During the game against Dixie State College, HPU was awarded a free kick just outside the penalty area as the first half neared its end.
Nathan Scott of Phoenix, Ariz. served the ball to the head of Bukoski of Kapa‘a, who scored on the header with just six seconds on the clock.
“It was a gritty win by the guys,” said Coach Chris Fisher in an HPU release. “It wasn’t a pretty game, but our defense was solid.”
Fisher said centerback Kainoa Kahui of Kona, Hawai‘i was the man of the match.
“Kainoa was the man of the match for us,” Fisher said. “Dixie State played a lot of long balls to our backline and he was there to intercept every one of them.”
Kay Flache of Schweinfurt, Germany, recorded three saves in the match for his third shutout of the season, while Tyler Walters posted three saves for Dixie State.
With the win, the Sea Warriors improve to 4-0 in the PacWest and 5-1 overall.
The Sea Warriors play the Red Storm one more time today at 4:30 p.m. PST before heading to Phoenix for two matches against Grand Canyon.
