By: Hope Hensley
October 15, 2026
HILO, Hawaii — Ainsley Martin provided a spark off the bench with her first goal of the season, but a late surge by Hawaii Hilo handed the Westmont women's soccer team a 4–1 loss on Thursday afternoon at Vulcan Soccer Field.
Hawaii Hilo (6-2-4, 3-0-3 PacWest) opened the scoring in the 22nd minute on a goal from Drew Sievers before extending its lead to 2–0 in the 68th minute through Shae Dougherty.
The Warriors (2-8-3, 1-5-0 PacWest) refused to go down quietly, continuing to push numbers forward in the second half. Martin—playing valuable minutes at outside back—ignited the attack in the 78th minute, driving toward the net and finishing unassisted to pull Westmont within 2–1.
"Ainsley provided an important piece in our ability to continue getting forward," said Westmont Head Coach Lauren Matthias. "She looked to go to goal and shoot, which was exactly what we needed. She provided some very good minutes at outside back for us today that helped get us within one."
Following Martin's goal, the Warriors pressed aggressively for an equalizer, but the Vulcans capitalized on counterattacks, scoring twice in the final five minutes to seal the result.
"It was a bit disappointing to not be able to manage those high-pressure moments, but it exposes the areas we still need to grow in—managing momentum and tempo, and capitalizing on the chances we did have," Matthias noted. "We forced the opponent to switch formations to adapt to us and were moving the ball well, but we just couldn't get clear looks to force saves on net. Defensively, I thought we handled their numbers and attack well, but once we brought it to 2–1, we lacked the discipline to continue dropping numbers to help manage the backline."
Midfielder Ruby Stimer set the pace early with a shot on frame, while forward Skyler McNamara created three chances up front. Goalkeeper Ellie Ludwig collected three saves on the afternoon.
The loss closes out a grueling two-week Hawaiian road swing for the Warriors, who faced both roster adversity and injuries along the way.
"It was a hard road trip, and we had a few injuries along the way that didn't help," Matthias added. "We have three games left to continue growing. Every match is meaningful in that we get the opportunity to grow and match up against quality opponents."
Westmont returns to California to wrap up its regular season, resuming PacWest action on October 24th at Biola.Â
