By Ron Smith
October 24, 2025
 
(HONOLULU) Playing in occasional rain at Waipi'o Soccer Stadium, Westmont Men's Soccer (5-6-2, 1-4-1 PacWest) fell to the Sharks of Hawai'i Pacific (6-4-2, 3-3) by a score of 3-2. The Warriors rallied from a 1-0 deficit in the first half, but couldn't keep pace in the second 45 minutes.
 
"I think the hope for us is always that we'll be able to get to the place where our desire to succeed in the game outweighs the opponent's desire to succeed in the game," said Westmont's head coach Morgan Cathey. "Right from the start, we had a desire to exploit in the build-up where the spaces were, but the opponent had a greater desire to minimize those spaces. Our commitment to that wasn't as great as their commitment to defend. That ultimately led to some momentum from them. Unfortunately, we conceded during that momentum and we had to find ourselves trying to get back in the game. Luckily, we did."
 
The game's first goal came in the 12th minute when a bad pass in the back by the Warriors led to an unassisted goal by Pedro Ashley. However, Westmont evened the score just five minutes later on a corner kick. Kicking from the right corner, Erik Guerrero sent the ball in front of the net where Weston Ash headed it into the goal.
 
The score remained even until shortly after the start of the second half. In the 47th minute, Noah Clarkson took a shot from 22 yards out that was blocked by Westmont goalkeeper Aidan Strickler. The ball rebounded out to the left where Sam Gantner collected it and scored.
 
"I thought halftime was a good reset for us, but the next goal was really important," expressed Cathey. "Once they found that goal, it was so hard for us to get back to find a result from our chances – which were many. The passion and energy that we showed in those moments were great, but it was too late. It was unfortunate."
 
Westmont played out of a 2-1 deficit until the 83rd minute when Kelly Takara converted a penalty kick, giving the Sharks a two-goal lead.
 
The Warriors battled and took back one goal in the 89th minute. A corner kick by Guerrero was punched out by Shark's goalkeeper Oliver Holt. The ball came out to Cole Lomeli who settled it, then fired from 26 yards out into the opposite corner.
 
While not mathematically so, the loss means that the Warriors are effectively eliminated from postseason play,
 
"We knew that the task in front of us meant that this game was our first step in a steep climb to reach a summit that was going to be hard to get to," said Cathey. "For us to slip in the first step was really hard. We knew after the game that the climb was going to be unrealistic. The season, for us, now comes down to building instead of competing for a championship. That is really hard to swallow, but also a great opportunity to learn and grow."
 
Saturday, the Warriors will continue their Hawaii road trip by taking on Chaminade. Kick-off is scheduled for 2:30 p.m. HST.