WAIPAHU, Hawaii — In the estimation of Hawaii soccer coach Michele Nagamine, her players have struggled to finish scoring opportunities in the Big West over the last three years.
Historically, a good start in the Big West has been even harder to come by. But by putting a goal away in a lightning-quick counterattack sequence against UC Davis on Thursday, this year’s edition of Rainbow Wahine showed both are attainable.
With the 1-0 decision by way of a 74th-minute Kelci Sumida score, UH (4-2 overall) won its conference opener for just the second time in 10 seasons of Big West play. The previous time, in 2019, was the only year to date that the Rainbow Wahine advanced to the conference’s postseason tournament.
Coming out of halftime of a scoreless game, Davis held possession in its attacking third for minutes at a time. UH weathered several opportunities by the Aggies.
Finally, with 16 minutes to play, UH’s three forwards collaborated on some magic. Krista Peterson got clear and lobbed a ball downfield, where a sprinting Amber Gilbert collected it and, after a couple of dribbles, fired the ball across two scrambling Davis defenders where a hustling Sumida one-timed it inside the back post.
Nagamine called it “textbook … you can’t draw it up any better than that.”
It was the first goal of the season and 11th career for the junior Sumida, a Moanalua High alumna.
“All I remember is sprinting down the field. I was trying to keep up with Amber Gilbert, and that’s not easy to do,” she said with a laugh. “I just tried to get whatever body part I could on it, and luckily it went in.”
Nagamine acknowledged that scrappy Davis (3-3-2), which owns a win over then-No. 5 Santa Clara in pre-conference play, very well could’ve picked up a result with a win or tie. The Aggies skied a few opportunities over the net from around the box; they outshot UH 9-6, but the visitors placed just two on frame for Lauren Marquez to save.
“They had one very good chance and they executed it very well,” Davis coach Tracy Hamm said. “It’s a game of chances and opportunities and they finished theirs, and we didn’t.”
Had neither team capitalized in 90 minutes of regulation, it would’ve been called a draw, per a new NCAA rule that eliminates overtime until the postseason.
“With no overtime this year, it makes it even huger,” Nagamine said. “We get three points versus one; it could easily have been a tie. We could have easily lost as well. They had some sitters and balls from the top of the 18, right outside of the box that went over the net, barely missed. So, anytime in the Big West you can grab a win at home, it’s huge.”
Marquez got the start in goal after splitting time evenly, down to the minute, with Sophie Augustin in pre-conference play. Nagamine said the senior Marquez’s experience in conference play and calm leadership style made her worthy of the nod Thursday.
UH now readies for a trip up the Central California coast with matches at UC Santa Barbara (1-6-2, 0-1) and Cal Poly (3-5, 1-0) next Thursday and Sunday.
Some more shots from the night:
Brian McInnis covers the state’s sports scene for Spectrum News Hawaii.