HONOLULU — It was a little close for comfort, but the Hawaii water polo team held off Long Beach State on Thursday night to remain unbeaten in the Big West heading into another marquee test at home.
A 9-7 victory at the Duke Kahanamoku Aquatic Complex over the No. 9 Beach offered both consternation and relief for the No. 5 Rainbow Wahine (15-3, 3-0 BWC), who have their sights set on a conference title and beyond – as has usually been the case under coach Maureen Cole.
“A little frustrated with some of the inconsistency, but at the same time really proud of our girls,” Cole said afterward. “We got in some foul trouble in the first half but managed it really well in the second half, only taking an exclusion and a 5-meter (penalty shot given up). So, we did a much better job of that.”
Freshman Bia Mantellato Dias scored four goals to lead the Wahine, including an early hat trick to help her team build a 5-1 lead. After LBSU (13-6, 3-1) drew to within a goal in the fourth quarter, veteran Alba Bonamusa Boix scored to give her team an important cushion with under four minutes left. UH held LBSU scoreless for nearly the last six minutes as junior goalkeeper Bridget Layburn stopped some shots in the final seconds.
Cole said LBSU’s pressure contributed to her team’s struggles to capitalize on defense-to-offense transition opportunities, but she noted a 7-for-9 scoring execution in power plays as a positive.
Bonamusa Boix, like her coach, was matter-of-fact about her team’s shortcomings. The team's drive has been high, she said, in the wake of UH's upset loss to UC Irvine in last year's Big West tournament championship in the Wahine's home pool.
“I think we are having a little bit of struggle with our execution,” the senior from Spain said. “The plays are there, the movement is there, but we are missing the goal, which (was) a big difference today. I don’t know how many shots we had, but I think it’s our lack of getting that finish execution … that makes this game closer. I think we could have a bigger advantage, for sure.”
She and Jordan Wedderburn scored two goals and Lot Stertereld had one.
UH gets to set aside conference play for a weekend and get to test itself against one of the few programs that stand between it and the top of the collegiate ranks of the sport. No. 3 California, which edged UH 11-10 in overtime in the Barbara Kalbus Invitational in Irvine, Calif., on Feb. 25, arrives for a stand-alone game at 6 p.m. Saturday at DKAC.
The Golden Bears went on to defeat a top-three mainstay, UCLA, in the Kalbus tournament.
For Cole, the match is not so much a chance to bolster her team’s at-large NCAA tournament chances as it is a prime opportunity to get better heading into the final month-plus of the season.
“I think we match up really great with Cal. They got some transition opportunities (last time), we just gotta do a good job on that,” Cole said. “We’ll focus on that a lot tomorrow. (In) 6-on-5, 5-on-6, the game always comes down to that. We didn’t do so hot last time, so hopefully that’ll be a bit better Saturday night.”
Bonamusa Boix said the team is always fired up to play one of the elites like Cal, USC, UCLA and Stanford. All of UH's losses this season are from that group of gatekeepers.
“This is what we play for at the end,” Bonamusa Boix said. “We don’t play to (blow out) a team and win (over) them by 20 goals. Those are the games we play for – where you are under pressure. You’re one up, one down, you’re tied … next play is important and everything counts.
“It’s always exciting and amazing to get the chance to play against a top team.”
Brian McInnis covers the state's sports scene for Spectrum News Hawaii. He can be reached at brian.mcinnis@charter.com.