HILO — Yonha Adrabi’s been holding his ground under fire all season long in goal for the University of Hawaii at Hilo men’s soccer team. HILO — Yonha Adrabi’s been holding his ground under fire all season long in goal
HILO — Yonha Adrabi’s been holding his ground under fire all season long in goal for the University of Hawaii at Hilo men’s soccer team.
Now he and the Vulcans finally have a positive result to show for it.
Freshmen Zachary Solarte scored his first goal of the season Tuesday, and Adrabi made nine saves at the UH-Hilo baseball field as the Vulcans earned their first point of the season by playing No. 14 Notre Dame de Namur to a 1-1 draw.
Coach Ziggy Korytoski fell short of his first victory at UH-Hilo (0-4-1, 0-3-1 Pacific West Conference), but he was encouraged by the way his team battled for 110 minutes against the league front-runner, especially considering that the Vulcans were coming off a 6-0 loss Saturday in their home opener.
“I think it was a fantastic match. Those were difficult conditions to play in,” Korytoski said of a field that was ravaged by a downpour Monday night. “The guys showed a tremendous amount of character to bounce back like they did. Unfortunately, we didn’t get the full result, but to pick up a point — I was very proud of them.”
After the Argonauts men’s team failed to pick up three points in a PacWest match for the first time this season, the Lady Argonauts earned their first league win with a 4-1 victory against UH-Hilo.
Adrabi is one of the few players that Korytoski added after taking over the program in June, and the junior has combined his 6-foot-2 frame along with cat-quick reflexes to give UH-Hilo its steadiest presence.
Rodrigo Lopez scored early in the second half to tie the match 1-1 as the Argonauts (6-1-1, 3-0-1) picked up their pace and peppered Adrabi with shots, putting 10 on goal compared to UH-Hilo’s three for the match.
“He did so many things to keep us in the match,” Korytoski said “He made some great saves where he might not have seen the whole play.”
UH-Hilo played the final 8 minutes, 30 seconds of the second overtime with a man advantage after Jesus Gonzalez drew a red card. The match also featured eight yellow cards and 38 fouls, 26 on the Vulcans.
Playing in only his second match this season, Solarte provided an instant spark for a UH-Hilo team that had only scored three times.
In the 18th minute, Solarte took the ball in the middle and showed off some fancy footwork as he dribbled around three defenders and beat Argonauts goalkeeper Jay Tsurouka.
“He’s done a great job, working real hard,” Korytoski said. “He wanted to make a statement in the lineup today, and he did that on both ends.”
Women
c Notre Dame de Namur 4, UH-Hilo 1: Alexis Tershay took advantage of defensive breakdowns to score twice as the Argonauts broke it open with three second-half goals.
UH-Hilo’s Teisha Nacis, a freshman from Waiakea High School, scored her first career goal to tie the match 1-1 heading into halftime, but Notre Dame de Namur found plenty of room to operate in the final 45 minutes.
“We made a couple of mistakes, and the other team was able to capitalize,” UH-Hilo coach Unity Beddingfield said. “Right now, it’s back to the drawing board. We’ve got to figure out a way not to give those chances up.”
Tershay scored on a breakaway to give the Argonauts (2-5-1, 1-2-1) the lead in the 56th minute. After Adriana Cortes scored on a free kick just over 3 minutes later, Tershay again broke in alone on goalkeeper Breegan Saller and dribbled around her for the easy goal.
Bianca Lemus scored in the first half. Nacis answered in the 32nd minute off of Lindsey Walter’s corner kick.
Notre Dame de Namur put 10 shots on goal, while UH-Hilo (3-4, 1-2) had four, all in the first half.
After a brief two-match homestand, the UH-Hilo men and women hit the road again, facing Dixie State in Utah on Monday.
The Lady Vulcans will be without Lindsey Poulsen, last year’s leading scorer. According to a family member, Poulsen has left the team and is looking to transfer.
