Coming off a 5-1 loss against Hawaii Pacific University, the Red Storm bounced back against Chaminade University Monday night.
The Red Storm reported back to the field just 48 hours after their loss to Hawaii Pacific University Saturday to take on Chaminade University. Having no time to rest, the Red Storm rose to the challenge.
DSU lit up the scoreboard Monday night, notching its second victory of the season.
“The guys actually took advantage of the opportunities tonight, which is a big difference,” head coach Danny Ortiz said. “We’ve had those opportunities before, and we haven’t capitalized on them, but today we [did].”
Junior midfielder Erik Shallenberger scored the first goal of the game, which was his third goal in three consecutive matches. Ten minutes later, freshman forward Michael Gray scored the second goal in the first half.
DSU came out strong in the second half, with goals from freshman midfielder Sean Jenne, sophomore defender Wade Canon and freshman forward Justin Brinkerhoff.
Senior goalkeeper Tyler Walters had two saves to end the game, preserving the shut-out.
Ortiz said the team used this game to bounce back from Saturday night’s embarrassing loss.
A lot of action was seen on the field for the Sea Warriors the first half, where they scored four goals early in the game.
Ortiz said he is not disappointed about the way the men played because of the diligent fight they put up against HPU.
“I don’t think we played bad soccer, we just gave up some bad opportunities early,” Ortiz said. “At every level, you’re going to have a day where [your opponent] has a day like that.”
Ortiz said DSU didn’t play a bad game overall. He said he gives credit to the men who did a good job of staying competitive and focusing on taking opportunities in the second half.
DSU needs to use the home field to its advantage the next couple weeks with HPU being the first of the five-game home stand.
One of the big games coming up for DSU is the rivalry game against Brigham Young University-Hawaii. The Seasiders defeated HPU, making this game important for the Storm.
Last year, DSU defeated BYU-H 2-1. This year, the Storm hope to use that win as motivation to take control of the Seasiders yet again.
“We [need to] focus on what we need to do and play our game,” assistant coach Nyle Ortiz said. “When we make the other teams worry more about us then we worry about them, that’s when things go better for us.”
Nyle Ortiz said the Seasiders’ biggest threat against DSU is the size of their players. He said the Storm have always played very well, so he believes the team can come out and win again.
The Storm take on BYU-H Thursday at 7:30 p.m. at Hansen Stadium.