Unbeaten UH-Hilo women’s soccer ranked No. 1 in NCAA Division II West

It’s the only team that’s still undefeated and now it stands at the top of the field.

The University of Hawai‘i at Hilo women’s soccer team moved up two spots and is No. 1 in the latest NCAA Division II Women’s Soccer West Region rankings. The Vulcans closed out the regular season last weekend, claiming outright the Pacific West Conference title.

The squad received additional accolades this week with forward Grace VerHage being named PacWest Player of the Week for the week of Oct. 24-30. VerHage helped the Vulcans clinch the PacWest title, scoring three goals in less than 25 minutes during the 3-1 win against Azusa Pacific University on Oct. 29.

She also scored in a 3-1 victory against Concordia University Irvine on Oct. 27 and had an assist in UH-Hilo’s 2-2 draw with Point Loma Nazarene University on Oct. 24.

VerHage is the only player in the conference this year to notch a hat trick and now has 11 goals and 25 points on the season, both tops in the PacWest.

UH-Hilo ended the regular season with a 13-0-3 record.

As PacWest champs, the Vulcans already have one of three automatic qualifying bids for the six-team NCAA Division II Women’s Soccer Championships bracket. The championships are set for Nov. 10-13 and 17-18.

The Great Northwest Athletic Conference and California Collegiate Athletic Association postseason tournaments conclude this weekend. The remaining three at-large bids will be determined by the NCAA regional rankings. The top two schools will serve as host sites for the first weekend of action.

The Vulcans’ fate will be unveiled Nov. 7 with the NCAA Selection Show set to broadcast at 2 p.m. online. For the NCAA Division II Women’s Soccer Championships schedule and additional information, click here.