A late slip by the Hawaii soccer team allowed UC Santa Barbara to emerge with a 1-0 victory in Santa Barbara, Calif., on Sunday afternoon.
Madeline Gibson’s 83rd-minute close-range shot set up by Cate Post along the goal line was the decider between two teams that entered the match with 3-2 Big West records. Now UCSB (11-6, 4-2) is in great position for a Big West tournament spot and UH (8-6-1, 3-3) must earn points during its final two home games in order to attain a breakthrough in the top four of the standings.
“We lost tonight to a very, very good team. And they’ve had a hell of a season,” UH coach Michele Nagamine said in a postgame phone interview. “They beat Cal, they’ve had some very, very good results. We knew coming in they were one of the top teams in the conference.”
For the moment, the Wahine sit in fifth with nine points; UC Davis (3-2-1) won Sunday to vault over UH into fourth. The Wahine host UC Riverside (11-2-3, 2-2-2) on Thursday and Cal State Fullerton (3-12-2, 0-5-1) on senior night Sunday.
“The good thing is, we come home, we’ve got two very big games on Thursday and Sunday,” Nagamine said. “We get two wins, and we’ve got nothing to worry about. That’s the mentality that we’re taking.”
UCSB won the shots battle 18-6, and won the possession battle in general, although the Wahine had a couple of quality chances by Raisa Strom-Okimoto in the first half coming off her hat trick in a 4-0 win at Cal Poly on Friday.
“I told the team, ‘Eh, at one point we would’ve killed to go 1-1 on the road in the Big West,’ ” Nagamine said. “But I think it says a lot about the kids and how hungry they are, because they’re not satisfied. They feel like they left some things on the table tonight.”
Goalkeeper Lex Mata recorded five saves in the loss.
Rewers leads way in Wahine scrimmage
Sophomore center Lauren Rewers scored a session-high 12 points to lead her five-person squad to victory in the Hawaii women’s basketball team’s Green and White scrimmage on Sunday afternoon at the Stan Sheriff Center.
Junior guard Courtney Middap ran the point in place of injured starter Tia Kanoa and had eight points and an assist in the White’s 30-18 win during two 10-minute periods. The 6-foot-4 Rewers shot 5-for-6 from the field.
Forward Kenna Woodfolk had 11 points and seven rebounds to lead the Green squad.
UH hosts UH Hilo in a Nov. 1 exhibition and then opens the regular season Nov. 6 at home vs. Pepperdine.
HPU women’s volleyball wins on road
Cameryn Collie recorded 15 kills and 13 digs as Hawaii Pacific (8-1, 7-8 Pacific West) beat Holy Names (3-18, 2-13) 23-25, 25-21, 27-25, 25-17 on Sunday in Oakland, Calif. The Sharks stay on the road as they face Notre Dame de Namur on Tuesday.
>> Emma Tecklenburg led Chaminade with 23 kills as the Silverswords (17-4, 11-4) defeated Dominican (6-14, 4-11) 25-12, 25-22, 22-25, 26-24 on Sunday in San Rafael, Calif. Chaminade remains on the road to take on Holy Names on Tuesday.
>> Bria Beale’s 12-kill, 13-dig performance was enough for UH Hilo (15-5, 11-3) as the Vulcans took down Academy of Art (0-24, 0-16) 25-12, 25-21, 20-25, 25-16 on Sunday in San Francisco. The Vulcans continue their road trip with a Tuesday match against Fresno Pacific.
