SAN LUIS OBISPO, Calif. — Weekend malaise haunted the Hawaii soccer team to the very end.

UH saw its campaign end via a 2-1 loss to Cal Poly in the Big West tournament first round in San Luis Obispo, Calif., on Sunday, perhaps fitting in a season that the Rainbow Wahine struggled mightily on that day of the week.

What You Need To Know

  • The Hawaii soccer team saw its 2023 season come to an end with a 2-1 loss to Cal Poly in the Big West tournament first round in San Luis Obispo, Calif., on Sunday

  • UH, which did not win a Sunday match in seven opportunities all season, got off to a slow start and yielded two first-half goals

  • Mia Foster scored on a header in the second half but the Rainbow Wahine comeback bid was undercut by a straight red card on Eve Bleam with nine minutes left, meaning UH had to play out the rest of the match down a player

  • Thirteenth-year coach Michele Nagamine said the experience would be invaluable for her returning players, all of whom hadn't played in such a high-stakes game until Sunday

Sixth-seeded UH (5-8-3) went 0-6-1 on Sundays, including 0-5-1 in Big West matches. Third-seeded Cal Poly delivered the last two such losses, with an identical-score stunner in the final minutes of senior night Oct. 22.

“We need to learn how to play on Sunday. Fatigue is always a factor,” coach Michele Nagamine told Spectrum News in a phone interview after her teams dropped to 0-2 all-time in Big West tournament matches. “We did have a couple of kids sick the last couple of days. But we have to find a way to play two halves. With the majority of our team returning, that will be our focus next year.”

It was UH’s first time in the Big West tournament since 2019, and first in the six-team format of the event.

Nagamine acknowledged her team limped to the finish line after it dropped its third straight game to end the year. Experience in such a setting also came into play, she said; only herself, super seniors Kelci Sumida and Eliza Ammendolia and team athletic trainer Lyn Nakagawa were present the last time UH was in the tournament. Sumida, the co-captain who injured her knee early in the season, could only watch from the sidelines.

“When we get more experience under our belt, we’ll learn how to play the big games, because today it was clear that Cal Poly was just ready to go and came out with a lot of passion, a lot of fire,” Nagamine said. Whereas she felt her team deserved to win on senior night, she thought the Mustangs (9-7-3) played the better game in the rematch.

Mia Foster, Maya Gonzalez, Brynn Mitchell, Nohara Takayama and Fabiola Zamora played the last match of their Wahine careers, as did four-time All-Big West honoree Ammendolia. Like Sumida, Chaima Khammar did not play but was present for her last UH game.

UH came out sluggish after remaining on the mainland following Thursday’s 4-2 loss at Long Beach State. It yielded a corner kick on the opening sequence of the game and, after the Mustangs strung together a few short passes, Cal Poly’s Emily Lieber netted a shot from the box with just 41 seconds elapsed when the Wahine failed to clear it on two opportunities.

Cal Poly outshout UH 11-2 in the first half and boosted its lead to 2-0 in the 39th minute on Peja Balanon’s score on a cross from Sophia Minnite.

The Wahine woke up in the second and had the run of play for most of the period, generating action consistently around the Mustang net.

Foster scored her sixth goal of the season on a 67th-minute header redirect on a free kick by Jacey Jicha, an All-BWC second-team defender who received her first career assist.

But the Wahine comeback cause was hamstrung when referee Adam Zarrin assessed sophomore defender Eve Bleam a straight red card on a challenge with nine minutes to play. UH had to play the rest of the match 10-on-11.

“I thought that call was a little bit brutal,” Nagamine said. “It was a yellow card, he could’ve cautioned her. But he said he saw a strike, which nobody else saw.

“It took away all the momentum. We were knocking on the door; we hit the post twice and the crossbar once. We were peppering them and I thought we actually had a very good second half.”

The Mustangs advanced to face second-seeded UC Davis in a Tuesday semifinal at Cal State Fullerton.

With UH’s customary practice site, Cooke Field, undergoing renovations for a new soccer and track and field venue, Nagamine is not sure where the team will conduct its spring season. She said she has heard that due to a two-month delay to the start of work, the venue will not be ready for the start of the 2024 season, contrary to previous estimates, and that most of the 2024 home games will be played back at Waipio Peninsula Soccer Stadium.

Brian McInnis covers the state's sports scene for Spectrum News Hawaii. He can be reached at brian.mcinnis@charter.com.