Vulcans down Lions, advance to men’s soccer PacWest Championship title match

University of Hawai‘i at Hilo men’s soccer advances to the Pacific West Conference Championships title match after a 2-1 semifinal victory Thursday afternoon (Nov. 13) against Vanguard University in the four-team conference tournament hosted on Westmont College’s Thorrington Field in Santa Barbara, Calif.

Jakob Santiago netted the first score in the 11th minute, with Kanata Taira adding another goal in the 65th minute that would give the Vulcans the edge.

The Lions managed to get a goal back with a score late in the 88th minute, but it was too late as University of Hawai‘i at Hilo prevailed to extend their trip to the Nov. 15 championship game.

Vulcans men will again step onto Thorrington Field at Westmont, but this time to against defending PacWest champ Point Loma Nazarene University.

Point Loma — which heads into Saturday’s title game boasting an overall 14-3-1 record for the 2025 season — is seeking its third conference championship in a row after claiming the title the past 2 years.

University of Hawai‘i at Hilo is looking for its first PacWest Conference Championship in men’s soccer, going into the championship matchup with an overall 11-4-2 record for the 2025 season.

PacWest Network will livestream the match, which begins at noon (10 a.m. Hawai‘i time) in Santa Barbara. A daily pass to watch online is $15.

GAME NOTES

• UNIVERSITY OF HAWAI‘I AT HILO suffered a 2-1 defeat to Vanguard just a month ago in Hilo during regular season play.
• THE VULCANS defeated Point Loma with a 2-0 shutout Oct. 23 at the Vulcan Soccer Field in Hilo.
• POINT LOMA defeated Fresno Pacific handily in a 4-1 victory this week on the other side of the PacWest Tournament bracket.
• UNIVERSITY OF HAWAI‘I AT HILO advances to the championship match with a 7-2-1 PacWest Conference record in 2025.

BEST AMONG THE WEST (AND SOUTH CENTRAL)

THE VULCANS WERE RANKED NO. 12 in the latest official NCAA Super 4 Region Rankings.

Pacific West Conference, Great Northwest Athletic Conference and California Collegiate Athletic Association, Lone Star Conference and Rocky Mountain Athletic Conference champions receive automatic bids, with five more teams selected from the final region rankings in qualifying for the NCAA Super 4 Regional Rounds.

The NCAA Selection Show will be streamed Nov. 17 on the NCAA website.