The narrow margin by which the Hawaii soccer team had its postseason dreams snuffed out in 2013 left behind smoldering embers for its outspoken coach.
Third-year coach Michele Nagamine thought her team was much-improved but left key results "on the table" in Big West Conference play.
The Rainbow Wahine were picked to finish seventh among nine teams and instead tied for fifth place, a mere point or two in the standings away from qualifying for their first Big West tournament with a 3-4-1 league record (8-8-1 overall). They beat Cal State Northridge on Nov. 3 to conclude the regular season but still came up short due to earlier letdowns, including two at the Waipio Peninsula Soccer Stadium.
"I think it burned a lot more," Nagamine said. "When you’re completely dominated by your opponent and you’re completely out of the running, it’s a lot easier to wake up the next morning and say, ‘Hey, thank goodness we didn’t get killed (this time). But when you’re neck and neck and losing games in double overtime because of your own mistakes with four minutes left in the game, that’s really hard to swallow.
"So I think that’s what I mean by us leaving a lot on the table this year. We wish we’d done things differently during the season. I think we could have been better."
Still, UH halted a string of four losing seasons and posted a winning road record (4-3-1) for the first time in a decade. That included landmark back-to-back nonconference wins at Pac-12 opposition — Oregon and Oregon State — in early September.
Over the weekend, Cal State Fullerton beat UC Riverside on penalty kicks in the Big West title game and earned the league’s automatic berth to the NCAA tournament. Some of Nagamine’s biggest disappointments were road losses to those teams.
"This year, the scouting report on us was, Hawaii can play. Don’t take them lightly, don’t take them for granted, and they still don’t give up," Nagamine said. "That shows me that we are making progress and heading in the right direction."
The only time UH has made it to college soccer’s biggest stage was in 2007 out of the Western Athletic Conference.
Nagamine thinks her team made serious strides with a more aggressive posture, usually with three forwards instead of just one from her first two years. Unlike its first year in the Big West, UH was not blown out in any league match.
"We were aggressive, we were attacking-minded, we took risks, we went forward, and we also defended well," she said. "So I think instituting that kind of mentality in the team was a major turning point for us this year."
Junior forward Tiana Fujimoto was named an All-Big West first-team forward after netting 10 goals, second among conference players. She has 21 goals for her career. Ten more goals as a senior would put her in UH’s top three all-time.
The team was perhaps too dependent on her, as seven of her goals were game-winners, tying Natasha Kai’s single-season record. Freshman Kama Pascua was second with four goals and no other player had more than one. Pascua’s older sister, Krystal, did not score in her new role as facilitator, but had a team-high five assists.
UH is expected to return its key offensive players. The Pascua sisters should come back, as well as mid/forward T.J. Reyno, who was hampered much of her freshman year with an ankle injury.
Defensively, freshman goalkeeper Monk Berger lived up to expectations, setting a program season record for solo shutouts with seven. Her goals-against average of 1.00 was fourth among Big West keepers.
Nagamine will have to reconstruct her "Timex Crew" defensive line with the departures of Karli Look, Chelsea Miyake and Male Fresquez. They played massive minutes in the back over the past three seasons, leaving Big West honorable mention Lidia Battaglia as the only decorated returnee on D.
"We’ve got great kids returning and a solid 2014 class that I cannot wait to unveil," Nagamine said.
UH played a somewhat abbreviated schedule due to scheduling and conference realignment difficulties, but Nagamine said the slate will be fully stocked again at 20 games in 2014.
At the start of the season, Nagamine was given a one-year rollover to her original three-year contract by UH athletic director Ben Jay. It takes her through the 2014 season.
"The future is very bright for us," Nagamine said. "We’re going to hit the road hard, try to find a couple more special players and I think we should be competing for a Big West championship next year."
