HILO, Hawai'i –
Sebastian Jaral erased a halftime deficit with his seventh goal of the season, but University of Hawai'i at Hilo reclaimed the lead in the 76th minute to hand Dominican men's soccer a 2-1 loss Monday afternoon at Vulcan Soccer Field.
The Vulcans (6-6-3, 3-3-3 PacWest) held a 17-8 advantage in shots and put five attempts on goal, while the Penguins (5-6-4, 4-3-1 PacWest) placed three of their eight shots on frame. Jaral accounted for four Dominican attempts and scored the equalizer, while
Colin Nestor made three saves.
Dominican generated the first dangerous looks of the match as Jaral sent an attempt wide in the eighth minute before
Anthony Stainer followed with a shot less than three minutes later.
Norman Tellez forced Jose Carlos Ortiz into the first save of the match in the 28th minute on an attempted chip shot towards the back post. UHH took the lead following a short corner in the 35th minute as Keita Goto and Gudmundur Ingason helped move the ball efficiently into the penalty area before it was pushed back toward the top of the box. Teun van Gansewinkel had a lot of space at the top of the box and buried his shot low to the right at 34:10 for the 1-0 advantage.
The Penguins answered in the 58th minute when Stainer sent Jaral charging toward goal. Diego Bastias parried Jaral's initial shot, but the rebound went directly back to Jaral, who bodied the ball down before burying the second opportunity to tie the match at 1-1. The goal was Jaral's seventh of the season and raised his total to 17 points, tying
Jake Kazlauskas for the team lead in both categories.
UHH moved the ball quickly through the final third in the 76th minute to create space for Kanilau Tolentino-Perry, who buried his attempt at 75:12 for the eventual game-winner and a 2-1 Vulcans lead. Dominican continued searching for another equalizer as Jaral returned to the field for the closing stretch.
Ben Schumann had the Penguins' final attempt in the 85th minute, but his shot was blocked as UHH held on for the victory.
The Penguins return to Kennelly Field on Saturday to host Jessup at 3:30 p.m. in the regular-season finale as they also celebrate their seniors prior to the match as part of Senior Day.
