Women's Soccer

Sea Lions Could Do it Again, Say PacWest Coaches

  
2022 PacWest WSOC Poll
1. Point Loma (9) 120
2. Hawai`i Hilo (2) 113
3. Concordia 102
4. Azusa Pacific 99
5. Biola 84
6. Dominican 63
7. Chaminade 58
8. Hawai`i Pacific 53
9. Fresno Pacific 46
10. Academy of Art 36
11. Holy Names 18
First-place votes in parenthesis
There is a feeling of the familiar and even a sense of déjà vu when looking at the 2022 Preseason Pacific West Conference Women’s Soccer special awards, poll and the All-PacWest team.

The Preseason Player, Defender and Goalkeeper of the Year are the same as they were in the 2021 postseason vote, and ten of the players selected to today’s preseason all-conference team were First Team picks by the league’s coaches last Fall.

That means a couple of things. 1) the PacWest is loaded with talented returnees and 2) the coaches know it.

Hawai`i Hilo’s Daelenn Tokunaga (Player of the Year) and Viviana Poli (Goalkeeper), along with Point Loma’s Lauren O’Malley (Defender) won the special awards again.

In the coaches poll, defending co-champion Point Loma got the nod with nine first-place votes and 120 total points. Fellow 2021 co-title winner Hawai`I Hilo was a close second with a pair of first-place votes and 113 total points.

Concordia nabbed the third spot (102 points) and had more players named to the preseason team (5) than the Vulcans (4) or the Sea Lions (3). Azusa Pacific (99) and Biola (84) rounded out the top five.

Point Loma will be chasing its fourth consecutive title, having won the trophy outright in 2018 and 2019 (there was no season in 2020). The Sea Lions only loss in 2021 PacWest play was to the Vulcans, while UH Hilo’s only defeat came at the hands of Azusa Pacific. Point Loma reached the NCAA West Region semifinals, while the Vulcans made their first-ever appearance in the NCAA tournament.

Daelenn Tokunaga was a key cog in helping the Vulcans, who were picked fifth in the 2021 preseason poll, to their breakout campaign. Tokunaga was the PacWest’s statistical leader offensively with 13 goals and assisted four others for 30 points, which led the conference by a large margin. The junior forward had three multi-goal games and scored seven-game winning goals, which is the third most in a single season in PacWest history. During the Vulcans’ nine-match winning streak to finish the regular season, there were seven games in a row in which Tokunaga either scored or assisted the game-winning goal.

Lauren O’Malley may soon have the PacWest Defender of the Year trophy named after her. This is the third time that she has been named the Preseason Defender of the Year, and she has already twice been selected as the PacWest Postseason Defender of the Year. Additionally, she has been named to four All-PacWest postseason squads and was voted in as the Preseason Player of the Year prior to the spring 2021 season. O’Malley was a huge part in a very stingy Sea Lion defense that gave up just nine goals in 17 matches for a miniscule 0.53 goals against average last year.

Viviana Poli adds the 2022 Preseason Goalkeeper of the Year award to her collection, which includes the 2021 PacWest Goalkeeper of the Year certificate. Poli had a 0.66 goals against average last Fall, totaled 44 saves and had the conference’s top save percentage (.830). She had five shutouts on the year, including three in a row against top PacWest contenders Concordia, Biola and Point Loma.

Tokunaga, O’Malley and Poli were also named to the PacWest-All Preseason team. They were joined by 11 others who have all been named to at least one All-PacWest team over the past several years.  

Joining O’Malley at the defender position was UH Hilo’s Jodi Lillie, Azusa Pacific’s Mackenzie Coleman and Point Loma’s Emma Thrapp. All three were First Team picks last Fall. Lillie is a four-time All-PacWest selection, dating back to her freshman season of 2018.

Tokunaga was joined at forward by Concordia’s Jadenn Carrillo, Point Loma’s Alana Diaz and Vulcan Filippa Graneld. Carrillo was a Second Team pick in 2021, but was the Preseason Player of the Year prior to the 2021 campaign and she was the Freshman of the year in 2019. Diaz and Graneld were First Team honorees last year, and Graneld was also the Newcomer of the Year.

Concordia can boast of three of the four midfielder selections. Layla Comeaux, Olivia Ocampo and Riley Walkington were named by the coaches, along with Biola’s Katelyn Penner. Ocampo and Walkington won First Team plaques last year, while Comeaux and Penner were Second Team. Ocampo was also the league’s Freshman of the Year.

Rounding out the 2022 Preseason All-PacWest selections is goalkeeper Hailey Asato of Concordia. The senior was a Third Team selection in 2021 and led the PacWest with seven shutouts on the year.

Nine of the PacWest’s 11 teams will open on Thursday (Aug. 25). Point Loma gets into the action on Saturday against Cal State San Marcos and Hawai`i Hilo doesn’t kick off until they take on Cal State East Bay on Sept. 1.

There are some key non-conference match-ups early in the season between teams picked to finish in the upper half of their conferences, including Concordia at Cal Poly Pomona on Aug. 25, Concordia at Western Washington on Aug. 30, and Point Loma at CPP on Sept. 1. On Sept. 6, Western Washington and Point Loma play in San Diego in a rematch of the 2021 NCAA West Region semifinals, and Azusa Pacific and Chico State square off under the lights on Sept. 8 in Chico. Biola plays at Chico on Sept. 10, and defending champions Point Loma (PacWest) and Sonoma State (CCAA) play on Sept. 14 in San Diego.

PacWest begins on Sept. 24 with Biola at Concordia, Point Loma at Azusa Pacific and Holy Names at Fresno Pacific.
 
Here is a look at all 11 PacWest women’s soccer teams.

(1) Point Loma has been at the top of the PacWest hill for the past three seasons, winning or sharing titles since 2018. They carried a 34-match unbeaten streak late into the 2021 season, a conference record. Head coach Kristi Kiely (112-35-15) has 17 familiar faces to look at from the 2021 team that shared the title with UH Hilo and won an opening round NCAA match-up. The Sea Lions have seven starters returning, all of them decorated to some extent with awards-- Lauren O’Malley (PacWest Defender of the Year, All-West Region Selection), Alana Diaz (PacWest First Team, All-West Region Selection), Emma Thrapp (PacWest First Team, All-West Region Selection),  Naomi Ellis (PacWest Second Team), Abby Schmidt (PacWest Third Team), Mara Sovde (PacWest Third Team), and Bethany Arabe (PacWest Third Team). Point Loma lost four starters but Kiely secured a large recruiting class that includes Nicki Friedman, who started every match last year as a freshman at San Francisco State. 

(2) UH Hilo was the surprise of the conference in 2021 after being picked to finish fifth. All the Vulcans did was win 12 matches, earn their first PacWest title and advance to the NCAA tournament for the first time. Head coach Gene Okamura (7th season, 28-22-12) returns 18 players from that squad, including eight starters. That starting group includes Daelenn Tokunaga (PacWest Player of the Year); Filippa Graneld (First Team PacWest, Newcomer of the Year); Jodi Lillie (four-time All-PacWest); Bailee Brennan (3rd Team PacWest ); Viviana Poli (PacWest GK of Year); Maisie Paulson (Senior, Defender); Alyssa Padron (2nd Team PacWest); and Nanea Wall (Senior, Forward). Additionally, Okamura signed 12 newcomers, including four NCAA Division I transfers, three D-II transfers and five true freshmen. Included in that group is two-time Hawaii Gatorade Player of the Year Teani Arakawa, who was the third leading scorer at South Dakota State last Fall as a freshman. 

(3) Concordia had five players named to this Preseason All-PacWest team, more than any school in the conference. The Golden Eagles 7-2-1 in conference play last season, good for third place. 16 returnees and nine starters return from that group-- Olivia Ocampo (D2CCA All-Region; 1st Team All-PacWest, PacWest Freshman of the Year); Riley Walkington (1st Team All-PacWest); Gabby Breton (2nd Team All-PacWest); Jadenn Carrillo (2nd Team All-PacWest); Layla Comeaux (3rd Team All-PacWest); Hailey Asato (3rd Team All-PacWest); Analisa Gjnovich (Sr., F); Briana Guerra (Jr., D); and Courtney Wiedeman (Jr., MF). Head coach Chris Gould (14th season, 131-75-17) also added San Diego State transfer Daniela Filipovic, who played parts of five seasons for the Aztecs, starting 30 matches.

(4) Azusa Pacific finished 11-5-1 a year ago and went 6-3-1 in PacWest play, handing co-champ Hawai`i Hilo its only conference loss of the season. 21 players that played last season return in 2022 for head coach Brooke Lincoln (26-21-5), who enters into her fourth season at APU. Of those 21 returnees, six are starters-- Mackenzie Coleman (CCA Second Team All-West Region, First Team All-PacWest), Bethany Tee (F, Third Team All-PacWest), Kylie Carwitz (Third Team All-PacWest), Katie Prado (M, Jr.), Bella Hara (GK, So.,), Gianna Ocello (D, So.), and Kayla Grisham (M, Jr.). Coleman was named to the 2022 Preseason All-PacWest team.

(5) Biola checks in at No. 5 in the PacWest preseason poll after finishing in that same slot in the league standings in 2021. The Eagles were 5-4-1 in conference play, just one game behind APU, with whom they tied in the final match of the season (3-3). Head coach Erin Brunelle (8th season, 74-31-15) has two full teams returning (22 players), including ten who started-- Halie Jamir (Third Team All-PacWest), Katelyn Penner (Second Team All-PacWest), Frances Andrade (Third Team All-PacWest), Chloe Laurin (Defender, So.), Rachel Melvin (Defender, R-Sr.), Jazmin Montalvo (Second Team All-PacWest), Christine Maranville (Forward, R-Jr.), Mason Stansberry (Forward, R-Jr.), Anna Boyer (Goalkeeper, R-So.), and Briana Ruelas (Goalkeeper, R-Sr.). Penner is a 2022 Preseason All-PacWest pick. 

(6) Dominican and head coach Kelly Coffey (7th season) have a slew of returnees (27), the largest in the conference. That includes seven players that started last year for the Penguins-- Tanya Bills (Sr.), Alejandra Melendez (Jr.), Sofia Odron (Gr.), Aiden Marquez (Sr.), Jackie Lancaster (Jr.), Kamryn Sorrick (Gr.), and Eryn Tufts (Jr.). The Penguins finished 5-8-3 last year and were 4-6 in the PacWest, but two of those losses were in overtime and they did finish the year with back-to-back victories over Academy of Art and Holy Names. 

(7) Chaminade was an even 7-7 overall and 5-5 in the PacWest last year, but had a winning record on the field—they had to forfeit their final match because of low numbers due Covid protocols. Head coach Michelle Richardson is in her tenth season and has 13 returning players and eight starters back. The returning starters include Hoku Schatz (D, Jr., All-PacWest Third Team), Caili Cain (F, So.), Asya Holt (MF, Sr.), Savannah Breeze Miranda (D, So.), Dayna Nishimura (D, Sr.), Tehani Smith (MF, Sr.), Naomi Takata (GK, Jr.), and Kyla Takazono (D, Sr.). Richardson also signed four transfers, including Gracie Bowers who played at Cal State Bakersfield and California Baptist, and grad transfer Lece Aviles, who was a three-year starter at New Mexico State. 

(8) Hawai`i Pacific went 4-5-1 in conference play last Fall and won three matches in a row towards the back end of the schedule. Third-year leader Adria Borras has 11 returnees on his roster and six transfers. The starters include Madi DePhillips (GK, Jr.), Hunter Malaki (D, Sr.), Kayli Ann Yoshioka (MF, Sr.), Brittny Ihara (MF, Gr.), Jaycey Iwane (F, Gr.), Caylie Uyema (F, Jr.), Kaylee Sumida (D, Sr.), Katie Pothier (D, Sr.), Maya Hagiwara (MF, Jr.), Marcella Chan (MF, So.), and Hayley Silipa (D, So.). 

(9) Fresno Pacific has a new coach in Joel Robinson, who inherited 18 returnees and four starters-- Tori De Leon (forward), Madilyn Hernandez (midfielder), Maiya-Ann Serrao (midfielder), and Brooke Uceda (defender). The Sunbirds won three matches in a row late in the season and lost by one goal to Concordia. 

(10) Academy of Art also has a new coach in Lauren Nadler. The former UC Santa Cruz head coach, who was hired in July, has ten returning starters including five seniors. Three transfers are also on the roster. The returning starters are Hannah Moore (F, R-So.), Avica Robings (D, Sr.), Reyna Valencia (M, Sr.), Britney Flint (D, Sr.), Baylie Christensen (F, Sr.), Raquel Calvo Mendez (D, Jr.), Brooklyn Morera (F, Sr.), Katie Williams (D, Jr.), Brooklyn Villapudua (F, Jr.), and Nicole Peoples (GK, Jr.). Valencia led the team in scoring last year and Morera is has her name in a number of career categories at ART U. 

(11) Holy Names has a pretty complete reload under second-year coach Paul McCallion. The Hawks were winless last Fall and return just two starters to the roster. But McCallion has six transfers and 14 freshmen to help with the rebuild, including Devin Lozano (Cal Berkeley), Zinet Siddiqi (Saint Mary’s College), and Alexis Aguilar (Cal Poly Humboldt). Two starting defenders return to help the back line in Natalie Lara and Abigail Estes.

 
2022 PRESEASON ALL-PACWEST WOMEN’S SOCCER AWARDS
Player of the Year Defender of the Year Goalkeeper of the Year
Daelenn Tokunaga
Hawai`i Hilo		 Lauren O’Malley
Point Loma		 Viviana Poli
 Hawai`i Hilo
 
2022 PRESEASON ALL-PACWEST WOMEN’S SOCCER TEAM
NAME SCHOOL POS YR HOMETOWN/PREVIOUS SCHOOL
Viviana Poli UH Hilo GK Sr. Covina, Calif./Biola Univ.
Hailey Asato Concordia GK Sr. Honolulu, Hawai`i/Concordia-Portland
Lauren O’Malley Point Loma D Sr. Long Beach, Calif./Woodrow Wilson HS
Jodi Lillie UH Hilo D Sr. Mililani, Hawai`i/Mililani HS
Mackenzie Coleman Azusa Pacific D Jr. Torrance, Calif./West HS
Emma Thrapp Point Loma D So. Temecula, Calif./Temecula HS
Daelenn Tokunaga UH Hilo F Sr. Waipahu, Hawai`i/Univ. of Hawai`i
Jadenn Carrillo Concordia F Sr. Anaheim Hills, Calif./Villa Park HS
Alana Diaz Point Loma F So. Chino Hills, Calif./South Hills /HS
Filippa Graneld UH Hilo F Jr. Stockholm, Sweden/Univ. of Colorado
Layla Comeaux Concordia MF Jr. Corona, Calif./Centennial HS
Olivia Ocampo Concordia MF So. Cypress, Calif./Cypress HS
Katelyn Penner Biola MF Sr. Beaverton, Ore./Cor Deo Christian Academy
Riley Walkington Concordia MF Sr. Sandpoint, Idaho/Eastern Washington Univ.