SAN JOSE — The pass link between Chevan Cordeiro and Elijah Cooks continues to click for the San Jose State soccer team.
Cooks caught a career-best 10 passes for 121 yards and two touchdowns in the first half, and the Spartans celebrated a two-game losing streak with a 27-14 win over Hawaii on Saturday afternoon in front of 15,012 fans at CEFCU Stadium.
Already qualified for the Bowl, SJSU (7-4, 5-3 Mountain West) increased their chances of being selected for the postseason for the second time in three seasons.
Cordeiro, who joined San Jose State from Hawaii for the season, completed 17 of 26 attempts for 208 yards with his two touchdowns going to Cooks, a graduate transfer from Nevada.
Cooks now has a career-best and MWC-leading 10 TD catches this season. In his last six games, he has 40 receptions for 575 yards and seven points.
When the Spartans had to convert a fourth and fourth game from Hawaii’s 34-yard line with just over 8 minutes left, Cordeiro went down to the 6-foot-4 Cooks, who scored a dive catch for a first down on 5 .
San Jose couldn’t redeem the game for a touchdown, but playing Taren Schive’s 22-yard field goal at 7:08 gave the Spartans a 13-point lead.
Hawaii (3-10, 2-6) got to the SJSU 2-yard line in the last 3 minutes before the Spartans’ defense twice met losses before linebacker Viliami Fehoko fired Brayden Shager on the fourth down to end the threat to end.
The Spartans gave themselves some breathing room with a 10-play drive for 75 yards to open the second half, with Kairee Robinson jumping left wide to score on a 1-yard run at 9:46 in the third quarter to score. Robinson finished with a career-best 14 rushing yards.
A 27-yard field goal from Schive after two games in the fourth quarter increased the Spartans’ lead to 24-6.
But Hawaii showed they weren’t ready to give up, rushing for 75 yards in seven games, with Shager connecting with wide receiver Steven Fiso for a 27-yard gain to open the drive that saw him with hit a 22-yard TD shot.
Shager passed to Zion Bowers for the two-point conversion and the Rainbow Warriors were within 24-14 with 12:41 in the fourth quarter.
Cordeiro and Cooks tied on two touchdowns to help the Spartans take a 14-6 halftime lead.
SJSU batted first on a 4-yard pass from Cordeiro-to-Cooks TD at 4:17 in the opening period, capping an eight-play, 59-yard drive.
The Rainbow Warriors went within range for three field goal attempts, with Matthew Shipley missing from 44 yards before converting from 46 and 27 yards. The second of those came after cornerback Virdel Edwards II intercepted a Cordeiro pass that ricocheted off the hands of receiver Justin Lockhart.
The Spartans extended their lead when Cordeiro Cooks hit the half with a 7-yard TD shot for a 14-6 lead at 1:09. A 44-yard completion by Lockhart at the Hawaii 9-yard line provided the score.
