By: Hope Hensley
October 10, 2026
HONOLULU — Behind an early set-piece strike, a brilliant individual goal, and a stout team defensive performance, the Westmont men's soccer team earned a 2–0 PacWest shutout victory over Hawaii Pacific on Saturday afternoon at Waipio Peninsula Soccer Stadium.
The Warriors (4-6-4, 2-1-1 PacWest) struck in the sixth minute when sophomore forward Leonel Olivo Ortiz buried a well-worked set-piece setup from Kristian Johnson, giving Westmont an early 1–0 advantage.
"Goals change games," said Westmont Head Coach Morgan Cathey. "Scoring off a set play definitely gave us a lot of belief and momentum to keep fighting hard to preserve the lead. It was a great, well-worked set play and an unbelievable finish from Leo."
Westmont doubled its advantage in the 59th minute through a moment of brilliance from sophomore forward Julius Oehmichen. Oehmichen picked up the ball near midfield, drove past multiple defenders into the box, and finished cleanly to net his first goal of the season and extend the lead to 2–0.
"The second goal was an incredible individual effort from Julius," Cathey praised. "He picked up the ball around 40 yards out, beat a few players, and got the finish. It was such a great reward for Julius. He hadn't gotten on the score sheet yet this season, but he was amazing today on both sides of the ball and has put in really good performances all year. It was great to see him rewarded with such a crucial goal."
Defensively, the Warriors turned in a complete 90-minute performance to keep HPU off the scoreboard. Junior goalkeeper Aidan Strickler recorded three saves to anchor the clean sheet, supported by disciplined play across the entire backline.
"The highlight today was definitely our defensive effort from the whole group," Cathey noted. "We defended so well for the entire game. HPU is a really good team, especially at home, and they pose unique challenges with their direct play and two-forward setup. KJ (Kristian Johnson), Barrett Goodman, and Joey Angelo were outstanding. Cash Anderholt and Tiago Aranibar played really well, and Logan Race came off the bench in the second half and didn't put a foot wrong. I'm really happy with how we applied ourselves."
The victory moves Westmont to 2–1–1 in conference play as they continue their Hawaiian road swing.
"This is the standard for us now," Cathey added. "We know what it takes to compete and win at this level, and to be consistent for 90 minutes. It's not about trying to get to the top of the table—it's about trying to get better and apply ourselves in even greater ways every single match. Today was a great step in the right direction."
Westmont continues its road trip on Monday, October 12, when they face Chaminade.
