Posted with permission, article and pictures, courtesy of University of Hawaii Hilo

Garrett Estrin Takes Over the Program, Opens Turf Field on Sept. 4 vs. Cal Poly Humboldt

So much will be new when the Hawai`i Hilo men’s soccer team begins their 2022 workouts and game schedule in a little over a month.

Garrett Estrin is the new leader of the program and steps into a dream situation that has been a long time in coming. Estrin’s group will be the first Vulcan team to play on the brand new campus turf field, when they host Cal Poly Humboldt on Sunday, September 4 at 11 am.

“I am very honored to have the opportunity to be able to coach our September 4th home opener,” said Estrin, who most recently was the head coach for the College of the Desert women’s program and was also an assistant at Cal State Dominguez Hills when they reached the NCAA Division II national title match. “Our 2022 squad will be the first Vulcan team to play on our new turf field facility.”

UH Hilo kicks of the year against the Lumberjacks, who went 10-5-2 a year ago, and will then host Westminster (Utah) on Sept 9. The Griffins were 9-10 in 2021. 

A two-match road trip follows at California Collegiate Athletic Association schools with a Sept. 12 bout at Cal State Monterey Bay (7-4-6 last fall) and a Sept. 14 match against San Francisco State (6-9-3). 

“I really want to thank Terry Yamane (assistant coach) for putting together a very solid preseason schedule for 2022, as well as being in charge of all the recruiting during the winter and spring,” Estrin added. “We have a 2022 class of 13 new recruits (more on that next week). “We have two home matches, two testing road matches and then two more home non-conference games before entering a very challenging PacWest schedule.”

After the northern California trip, the Vulcans will play island rivals Hawai`i Pacific (Sept. 17) and Chaminade (Sept. 23) in non-conference bouts before beginning conference play on Sept. 26 against Dominican and October 1 versus Academy of Art.

A trip to Oahu for PacWest matches against Chaminade (Oct. 7) and Hawaii Pacific (Oct. 9) follows before the Vulcans return home to face Fresno Pacific (Oct. 15) and Holy Names (Oct. 18). The regular season wraps up with a grueling trip to southern California (Oct. 22-29) where UHH will face four of the top five teams from the 2021 standings, including defending PacWest champion Azusa Pacific.

Estrin replaces Paul Regrutto, whose team went 6-7-1 last year and made improvements each of his four seasons in leading the program.

“We are looking to build off of last year’s accomplishments and hopefully continue to push ahead,” Estrin added. “Our returning guys, as well as the incoming players, are very excited to get back to campus and get working to get the season underway, as is the coaching staff. We can’t wait to get going.”