PHOENIX, Ariz. - The PacWest men's soccer races heated up at a time when weather traditional cools down as teams wrapped up the month of September and dipped into the heat of conference play during the first week of October.

Eight teams have at least nine points and stand at .500 or better as the race for the PacWest Championship begins to sizzle.

The commonality among all of the teams is a loss – everyone has at least one.

Hawai'i Pacific stayed unbeaten through last weekend and ran its unbeaten conference record to 4-0 after a 3-2 victory over visiting Fresno Pacific. Alejandro Porras scored two goals in the victory.

But Azusa Pacific dealt the Sea Warriors a 4-3 double-overtime loss on Thursday, Oct. 4, leaving APU and HPU deadlocked with FPU in a three-way tied for third with 12 points. Azusa Pacific (4-2) and Fresno Pacific (4-3) have more losses than the Sea Warriors and have played more contests.

Notre Dame de Namur tasted tough luck on the road after going 1-1-1 in its last three games in Hawai'i, but the Argos rebounded with a solid 3-1 effort vs. Academy of Art and lead the overall point standings with 16 (5-1-1).

Meanwhile, Grand Canyon ran its PacWest mark to 5-1 with a hard-fought 2-1 win over visiting Azusa Pacific on Sept. 29 and doubling up Hawai'i Hilo 6-3 on Oct. 3. Zoran Nincevic and Brandon Hansen scored the two goals for the Antelopes in the win over APU.

Dominican continued its red-hot play with a 4-3 victory over Holy Names and a 2-1 win vs. Academy of Art as the Penguins glided to a pair of Bay Area wins. Kolby Mitnick had a goal and two assists against HNU and scored the game-winner vs. Art U, while Swap Mushiana tallied twice against Holy Names.

But the Penguins were hit with a 4-1 setback at Fresno Pacific on Oct. 4 and are tied for sixth in the standings with nine points thanks to a 3-2 record.

California Baptist has nine points on a 3-1 record and is tied with Dominican and Holy Names in the standings. The Lancers picked up a 2-0 win over PLNU this week.

Key contests coming up on Saturday, Oct. 6, include NDNU @ Dominican, Holy Names @ Fresno Pacific and BYU-Hawaii @ Grand Canyon.

On Monday, Oct. 8, Holy Names visits Azusa Pacific, while on Tuesday, Oct. 9, HPU lands in Phoenix to take on Grand Canyon in a contest that will feature two of the top teams in the conference.