HONOLULU — In a time of transition for the Hawaii soccer program, its upcoming 2023 season could be treasured for its relative normalcy.
This year is expected to be the last season of Rainbow Wahine home games played exclusively at longtime home Waipio Peninsula Soccer Stadium as UH embarks on the construction of a new on-campus venue for its soccer and track and field programs to be playable by the 2024 season.
However, because lighting will not be installed with the initial phase of work at the new venue, UH will be limited to playing only day games there for the foreseeable future.
“It’s a distinct possibility we will be in two different places,” 13th-year head coach Michele Nagamine said of home games in 2024 and beyond.
“We’re not going to be ready to play night games on campus for years. On Thursday-Sunday home weekends, we are at Waipio on Thursday night. We won’t have lights until Phase 2, and I don’t know when that will be. … We really haven’t discussed anything moving forward. So yeah, it’s going to be tough for us to see exactly what the schedule is going to shape up to be. But we’re in for it. We’ll be ready.”
UH, fresh off a successful team foreign tour of Italy, announced its 15-game 2023 schedule on Monday. It begins Aug. 17 against Utah Valley, the first of eight contests at WPSS. Gonzaga also arrives for that season-opening four-team Outrigger Soccer Kickoff. The Wahine, after facing those two teams that contended for Western Athletic and West Coast Conference titles in 2022, then host Sacramento State in a stand-alone contest Aug. 24.
League play begins at home Sept. 14 against Cal State Northridge. UH has an 11-day gap to prepare for it coming off its only nonconference road trip to Air Force and UNLV. Nagamine said she deliberately chose not to add an additional road game in that stretch to help her team with its recovery.
As in recent seasons, UH scheduled a reduced number of nonconference opponents and overall games; UH previously used to play 17 to 20 for a full season. Nagamine said that is a residual effect of the COVID-19 pandemic and expects the schedule to return to its full complement in 2024 and beyond.
“(There are) still a lot of teams not able to travel, (with) ADs asking them to postpone trips until ’24,” Nagamine said. “It is not ideal for us from a quantity of games, but I think the quality of games is gonna be really good.”
The Wahine were bolstered in the offseason by the return of two of their top offensive players, Kelci Sumida and Eliza Ammendolia, who elected to return for fifth seasons after participating in senior ceremonies last fall. Combined with its other top offensive threats Krista Peterson and Amber Gilbert, UH returns the scorers of 14 of its 15 goals last season.
“I think Kelci and Eliza’s competitive fire is going to set the tone for us, but there are going to be some very bright young players that are going to help us come in and close the doors,” Nagamine said.
All-BWC second-teamer Jacey Jicha is the top returnee on defense. Part-time starting goalkeeper Sophie Augustin is back, as is reserve keeper Brianna Chirpich.
UH was 6-6-3 (3-4-3 Big West) last season, narrowly missing out on the six-team Big West tournament. Qualifying for it remains the goal; UH made it only once in a decade of the old four-team tournament format.
“Getting into the last week of the season where we could either be first or seventh, that’s Big West play for you,” Nagamine said. “We want to really make sure we take advantage of the opportunities we create, because we created so many opportunities last year and just couldn’t put them away.”
Players will report for fall training on July 31. But with construction work set to begin on the team’s usual practice venue at Cooke Field, the Wahine are hunting for a place to hold training sessions.
Nagamine said she is considering one public and one private location and will decide in the coming week.
Nagamine’s staff has seen one of the most significant reworkings of her tenure with 12-year assistant and goalkeeper guru Marc Fournier stepping out of college soccer after last season. Kaula Rowe was elevated to associate head coach, and Daniel Saucedo was hired to oversee the keepers. Saucedo has worked on the East Coast, most recently with Maryland-Baltimore County.
UH opens competition against Houston Christian (formerly known as Houston Baptist) in a preseason exhibition at WPSS on Aug. 13.
Brian McInnis covers the state's sports scene for Spectrum News Hawaii. He can be reached at brian.mcinnis@charter.com.