Michele Nagamine’s connections in the Pacific Northwest should keep the Hawaii soccer team well fed during its stay in Oregon.

When the Rainbow Wahine coach put out the word that the team was headed to Portland for a two-match trip, she heard from at least two former classmates who wanted to host team meals during the week.

On the field, a sweep of their last homestand sent the Wahine into the trip with a healthy appetite for success.

“The lights are all starting to go on and they’re starting to recognize their true potential,” Nagamine said.

“They’re getting a taste of what it feels like to win games, and I think that taste has made them hungrier.”

The Wahine (2-1-0) open their final nonconference road trip of the regular season today against Portland (3-0-2) at Merlo Field. They’ll remain in Oregon for a match against Portland State (1-3-2) on Thursday before returning home to start Big West Conference play.

After opening the season with a trip to Arizona that was hampered by storms in the desert, the Wahine earned their first home win since October 2019 with a 2-1 victory over Seattle on Aug. 25 and capped the homestand with a 1-0 win over Nicholls State a week ago.

Sophomore forward Krista Peterson scored the lone goal against Nicholls State and freshman Amber Gilbert, who missed last season with a knee injury, scored her first collegiate goal against Seattle. Eliza Ammendolia also scored against Seattle and seven UH players have registered a point through three matches. Nagamine said the distribution has helped ease the pressure on senior forward Kelci Sumida, who has routinely drawn double- and triple-team defense during her career.

“Spreading the aloha,” Nagamine said of UH’s offensive diversity early in the season. “If we can have multiple threats we make it harder for the opponent to have a game plan against us.

“It’s so great to see as a coach, because now everybody feels like they’re contributing.”

Nagamine also praised the progress of a young back line and UH’s options in goal with junior Sophie Augustin and graduate student Lauren Marquez splitting starts during the homestand.

“This is a very unique situation because we have three goalkeepers who could start and play in many, many different programs,” said Nagamine, who also has freshman Brianna Chirpich available. “The trust I have in every single one of them, it’s a luxury and it doesn’t happen very often.”

Portland was voted fifth in the West Coast Conference preseason poll and is off to its best start since 2013. The Pilots posted their fourth straight shutout in a 2-0 win at Nebraska on Thursday.

Portland has won 13 WCC championships and two NCAA titles (2002 and ’05) and the program’s alumni roll includes U.S. National Team star Megan Rapinoe and Canadian and NWSL standout Christine Sinclair.

“To play on Merlo Field in front of what I’m anticipating will be a very big crowd, that’s going to be a genuinely amazing experience for the players.”