Early on, Saturday didn’t exactly bear the signs of a landmark day for the Hawaii water polo team.

The fifth-ranked Rainbow Wahine trailed No. 13 Michigan for much of that morning’s match at the season-opening Fresno State Polo-Palooza in Fresno, Calif.

“It was a rocky start, first-game jitters,” said Rainbow Wahine coach Maureen Cole.

But the team’s veterans led a fourth-quarter comeback, and the eventual 14-11 overtime win over the Wolverines only set the stage for what was to come that evening.

With uncommon poise from players both old and new, UH stunned No. 1 Stanford – a program it had not beaten in 36 previous meetings – 9-7 in overtime Saturday night.

Cole, the 13-year head coach who has announced that the 2024 season will be her last, balanced her emotions between excitement for the team and its possibilities and guarding against complacency from early success.

“I want to enjoy this last ride as much as I can but it’s hard not to enjoy today, for sure,” Cole told Spectrum News in a phone interview Saturday night. “To have the girls battle back and win two overtime games is really fun, really special to still be a part of it.”

Fifth-year senior Alba Bonamusa Boix put in seven goals on the day, including four against the Cardinal.

UH led Stanford 3-1 at halftime but the Cardinal scored five times in the third quarter. Center Bia Mantellato Dias tied it up at 7-7 with 3:47 left in regulation and one of the team’s new goalkeepers, La Salle transfer Emma Gurasich, came up big with a save on a Cardinal power play in the final minute.

Jordan Wedderburn delivered the game-winner in the first OT period and Bernadette Doyle’s steal with 27 seconds left helped clinch it.

UH held the Cardinal scoreless for the last 13 minutes of play. A key factor was UH being able to control the vaunted counterattack from the two-time defending national champions. That was no small thing for a Wahine program that lost its defensive stalwart, Emma van Rossum, from the last five years, as well as starting goalkeeper Bridget Layburn.

“Since we were controlling their counter we weren’t reeling all the time coming back on defense,” Cole said. “Our team is pretty fast and we played with a lot more composure in the second game than we did in the first against Michigan.

“You just want to stay close and give yourself a chance and they did that, and put the ball in the back of the net when it counted late. Super stoked for the team.”

Mantellato Dias led UH against Michigan with four goals, all in the second half, and had six scores on the day. Freshman keeper Daisy Logtens got the win in goal against UM.

The Wahine played No. 4 Cal in an exhibition Sunday before heading back to the Islands. They host Princeton, Azusa Pacific and Fresno State in the Rainbow Invitational at the Duke Kahanamoku Aquatic Complex on Friday and Saturday.

Note: A previous version of the story listed an incorrect number of goals for Alba Bonamusa Boix in the photo caption. She scored seven goals on UH water polo's opening day.

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