Time is running out on the Hawaii soccer team.
Another dismal result on the road has the Rainbow Wahine staring at the distinct possibility that they will miss the Big West tournament yet again. UH lost 4-0 on a hot Sunday afternoon at Cal State Fullerton, dropping the last-place Wahine to 0-4 in conference play and 3-10-1 overall.
Fullerton (10-2-1, 2-1) striker Rebecca Wilson hung a hat trick on Hawaii, scoring once in the first half to stake her team to a 1-0 halftime lead. Then in a 12-minute span in the second half, the Big West’s leading scorer (14 goals) slotted two more balls past goalkeeper Monk Berger and assisted on another score.
Wilson tied the UH opponent record for most points with seven.
UH coach Michele Nagamine said she told Wilson after the game, “It was a sheer honor to watch you play.” But the coach was also disgusted with her team’s second-half effort, especially defensively, in getting outshot 26-10 in total.
“The goals were soft, they were horrible,” Nagamine said via phone from California. “I thought we really lacked courage, and that’s what I got on them about. I was like, you know, when a ball is in the air and it’s 50-50, and you cower from the challenge, that’s shameful. It’s disgusting to me. That’s not who we are.
“We talk about things until we’re blue in the face, and it’s like their heads are coconuts.”
UH has yet to qualify for the Big West tournament by finishing in the top four of the standings since joining the league in 2012. To make it this year, the Wahine will likely have to win out in their remaining four games and even then, there is no guarantee. They are 0-6 on the mainland this season, and still have road games remaining at UC Davis and first-place Long Beach State.
But the Wahine have all week to prepare for a home game against Cal State Northridge (9-5-1, 2-0-1) on Sunday.
“We’re going to watch film, we’re going to get back to the drawing board,” Nagamine said. “I would consider myself to be a pretty big girl, and I’m not singing yet. So it ain’t over, ’cause I ain’t singin’.”
The Wahine actually got off to a decent start Sunday. Forward Sonest Furtado took a through ball from Storm Kenui and had a line-drive shot carom off the crossbar in the early minutes.
However, UH lost senior defender Lidia Battaglia to a hamstring injury just minutes into the game, costing the Wahine their most experienced stopper.
Fullerton dominated possession as the game progressed and pounced on counterattack opportunities.
UH has been outscored 16-3 in Big West play this season. It dropped to 0-4 against Fullerton in meetings as conference foes.
“We’re not giving up,” Nagamine said. “We’ve got four games and I’m going to treat every one like it’s the championship game. I’m not going to worry about anybody else (in the Big West), because at this point we’ve got enough to worry about with ourselves.”
