HILO — One year after posting the third double-digit win season in program history, the UH-Hilo men’s soccer Vulcans will embark on a 17-game regular season schedule in the upcoming fall.
The 2024 slate will feature eight home matches at the on-campus Vulcan Soccer Field beginning with the season opener Sept. 5 against Cal State Dominguez Hills. In addition to the Toros (CCAA), Hawai’i Hilo will tune up with non-conference contests against Chaminade, HPU, Western Oregon (GNAC), Cal State Monterey Bay (CCAA) and Cal Poly Humboldt (CCAA).
This year also brings upon the inaugural Pacific West Conference Soccer Championships with the top four teams clashing in a two-round postseason tournament set for Nov. 14-16 at the Orange County Great Park in Irvine, California.
“We are excited to have a schedule that allows us to compete with top teams across the region,” Vulcans head coach Diego Marroquin said. “The CCAA and GNAC are fantastic conferences and we are thrilled to test ourselves against the very best. The PacWest Conference will get even tougher this season with the addition of the inaugural postseason tournament and three new programs.”
With the start of the 2024-25 school year, the PacWest Conference welcomed Jessup University (Rocklin, California), Menlo College (Atherton, California) and Vanguard University (Costa Mesa, California) from the NAIA’s Golden State Athletic Conference.
All three teams are entering the second of a three-year transitional period from the NAIA to the NCAA Division II and will begin athletics competition against Division-II schools. However, they will not be eligible for post-season play until 2026-27.
Additionally, Westmont College — who was supposed to be entering its final year of the three-year transition period — was recently granted a waiver to be eligible immediately for post-season play beginning with the upcoming fall. The Warriors posted a 7-2-1 record through the PacWest Conference slate last year for an unofficial runner-up finish in the final standings.
The addition of the three teams also makes for an uneven PacWest schedule, leaving Concordia University Irvine and reigning champion Point Loma off of this season’s slate.
“It will be another exciting year for our program. We bring back a group of talented, high-character young men who were able to come together last season to prove this program can compete at a very high level. Mixing in bright newcomers to our roster and staff makes us feel we will have the opportunity to electrify our University, families, alumni and fans with our product on and off the pitch,” Marroquin said. “Although our road will have many obstacles and challenges, our objective remains clear: we will put a premium on who we are and how we operate. We will focus on the identity of our program and we will continue to believe and aspire for historic success here at the University of Hawaii at Hilo.”
The Vulcans open the PacWest Conference season Sept. 28 on O’ahu against HPU and will later close Nov. 9 at home against Chaminade.
UH-Hilo went 10-6-0 in 2023 with a 7-3-0 record through conference play for a No. 3 finish.
Men’s soccer to host summer ID camp
UHH men’s soccer hosts its Summer 2024 ID Camp on Aug. 17 at the Vulcan Soccer Field. The camp is open to current high school athletes and ages 18–23 who aspire to play at the NCAA Division II level.
Instructed by the Vulcans coaching staff composed of acting head coach Diego Marroquin and assistant coaches Terry Yamane and Steve Petner, the one-day event spanning 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. exposes participants to collegiate-level training sessions focusing on speed, agility and quickness, technical instruction, small-sided games and 11-on-11 along with a campus tour and college talk.
See HiloAthletics.com/camps for registration, waiver forms and more information.