The season came to an end for the Hawaii women’s soccer team on Sunday when the sixth-seeded Rainbow Wahine fell 2-1 to No. 3 seed Cal Poly in the opening round of the Big West Championships at Mustang Memorial Field in San Luis Obispo, Calif.

Hawaii made just its second appearance at the Big West Championships after finishing the season 5-8-3 (4-5-1 BWC). The Wahine joined the conference in 2012 and made their first championship appearance in 2019.

The Rainbow Wahine finished the season with back-to-back 2-1 losses to Cal Poly (9-7-3). In last week’s home finale, UH fell to the Mustangs after conceding two late goals. In the postseason rematch, Cal Poly jumped on top early while a UH comeback fell short.

Cal Poly earned a corner kick on the game’s first possession. Emily Lieber received the ball in front of goal and put it away 41 seconds into the match. The Mustangs went up 2-0 when Peja Balanon put away a cross from Sophia Minnite in the 39th minute. Cal Poly took 11 shots in the first half, while the Wahine took two.

Needing two second-half goals to draw even, the Wahine ramped up the pressure on offense. UH outshot Cal Poly 7-3 in the second half and earned four corner kick opportunities. The Wahine scored in the 67th minute when junior Mia Foster headed in a goal off of a set-piece assist from Jacey Jicha.

UH goalkeeper Sophie Augustin kept the comeback hopes alive with a strong showing in goal. She held Cal Poly scoreless in the second half and finished with five saves.

Hawaii’s comeback effort ultimately fell short though, as the Mustangs held UH scoreless for the final 23 minutes. The Wahine played the final nine minutes with 10 players after Eve Bleam was red carded. Jicha got a shot off in the 87th minute, but Cal Poly goalkeeper Mackenzie Samuel made the save to seal the win for the Mustangs.