Just a little bit of normalcy.
It doesn’t seem like much to ask for, but the unexpected has been typical for the University of Hawaii soccer team.
Coming off a 2021 season that ended with the finale being called off just before warmups due to COVID-19 protocols, the Rainbow Wahine had their opening week altered by monsoon conditions in the desert.
After an exhibition draw with Northern Arizona, UH’s season-opener against Grand Canyon was split over two days due to severe weather a week ago. More lightning strikes in the area then forced Sunday’s scheduled match at Arizona State to be canceled.
So the Wahine enter today’s home opener against Seattle simply looking forward to getting back on the pitch at Waipio Peninsula Soccer Stadium.
“I think the kids are ecstatic,” UH coach Michele Nagamine said after being drenched by a morning downpour during Tuesday’s practice back in Manoa. “It was a long road trip with unbelievable weather and challenges. To get home in front of our fans at Waipio and actually having full access again is going to be phenomenal for us.”
The Outrigger Soccer Kickoff opens today with Hawaii Pacific University facing Nicholls State at 4:30 p.m. before UH (0-1-0) faces Seattle (1-0-1) at 7. HPU and Seattle meet at 1 p.m. Saturday and UH closes the weekend against Nicholls State on Sunday.
The Wahine were penned in by Grand Canyon in the first half of last Thursday’s match in Phoenix. After the match was postponed overnight, UH fell behind 2-0 before scoring its first goal of the season. A defensive breakdown contributed to a 3-1 win for the host Antelopes.
Sophomore forward Krista Peterson accounted for the UH goal off a well-place cross from freshman Zoe Park.
“I think (the postponement) gave us a lot of time to evaluate what we needed to adjust,” Peterson said. “And I think what we did worked, because we came out and ended up getting a goal out of it. Although the result wasn’t what we were hoping for I think we made significant improvement as a whole.”
Nagamine said the coaching staff planned to tweak the lineup for the Arizona State match, but they didn’t have an opportunity to implement the changes until returning home.
“The bright spot for me is I like that we got exposed, because we need to see those scenarios early on in the season so that we can prevent that from happening during conference,” Nagamine said.
Seattle opened the season with a scoreless tie with Air Force and defeated Fresno State 2-0 last Saturday. Campbell graduate Jourdyn Curran, a sophomore midfielder, started both matches for the Redhawks, who have two other Hawaii products on the roster in junior goalie Lexi Davis (Moanalua) and freshman midfielder U’i Kaaihue (King Kekaulike).
Nicholls State made the trip from Thibodaux, La., at 0-2 following losses to Southern (2-1) and Tarleton (1-0) last week. HPU opens its season today after going 5-10-1 last year. Pearl City’s Caylie Uyema led the Sharks with four goals in 2021.
Outrigger Soccer Kickoff
At Waipio Peninsula Soccer Stadium
Seattle (1-0-1) vs. Hawaii (0-1-0)
>> When: Today, 7 p.m.
>> TV: Spectrum Sports
