Men's Soccer

Sato's Two Goals Lift Vulcans Past Wolves

Mirai Sato scored twice, including the game winner with less than two minutes left, to push Hawaii Hilo past Western Oregon in the NCAA Super Region 4 first round. The Vulcans will now face No. 1 seed Stanislaus State on Sunday.

TURLOCK, Calif.—Mirai Sato scored twice, including the game winner with less than two minutes remaining to lead Hawaii Hilo to a wild 3-2 victory over Western Oregon in the First Round of the NCAA Super Region 4 playoffs at Friday afternoon at Warrior Field.

The Vulcans, making their first-ever NCAA postseason appearance, will now face host and No. 1 seed Stanislaus State on Sunday at 3 pm PT.

Sato found the back of the net in the tenth minute to open the scoring and then again at 88:11 for what would be the match clincher. Both scores came off of corner kicks.

The victory was not only the inaugural victory in the NCAA tournament for the Vulcans, it also avenged a 3-1 loss to the Wolves back on Sept. 8 in Monmouth. Hawaii Hilo moves on with a 12-5-2 record while Western Oregon’s season ends at 11-5-4.

Sato, a fifth-year senior, got the Vulcans on the board first after finding the ball in a scrum at the mouth of the goal after a corner kick from Iago Perez Ferreiro. That early 1-0 lead held up through the first 45 minutes of play.

The Wolves answered early in the second half (55:14) off the foot of Alex Grignon, but UH Hilo regained the lead at 67:02 when Kanilau Tolentino-Perry found the back of the net. That 2-1 lead stood until a late Vulcan foul gave the Wolves a penalty kick in the 84th minute.

WOU’s Yahir Ocampo Navarro, the GNAC Player of the Year, deposited the shot to knot the match at 2-2. The match was heading to head to overtime, until Sato added his final heroic touch.

Off a corner kick again, this time sent from Palli Ingvason, Sato scored to move the count to 3-2 at 88:11. Less than two minutes later, the Vulcans were celebrating.

The Vulcans, who have won eight of their last nine matches, had a 9-3 edge in shots on goal. They also beat a Wolves team that had won six straight matches, including the GNAC title bout, and had not lost since October 4.

The goals for Sato were his sixth and seventh of the season. On defense, the Vulcans were playing without starting keeper Paul Waschkau, who received a red card in the PacWest championship match. Adam Frank filled in and got the victory in goal.

The Vulcans will now take on the CCAA champion Warriors, who are 16-1-1 and ranked No. 3 in the latest national poll. As the No. 1 Super Region 4 seed, Stanislaus State had a first round bye.