A feisty start to the 2013 season ended in difficult fashion for Hawaii.
A 21-3 advantage in shots for the Rainbow Wahine ended up meaning as much as the number of balls UH actually put in the back of the net — zero — in a 1-0 double-overtime loss to UNC-Greensboro on Friday night at Waipio Peninsula Soccer Stadium.
It ended in the 105th minute when Spartans forward Chesney White scored on a sweet cross from Georgia Brown, heading it past new Wahine goalkeeper Erica Young.
Adding to the misfortune, UH will be without its top overall player, junior Krystal Pascua, for Sunday’s 2:30 p.m. match against No. 21 Central Florida (1-0). Pascua was red-carded after grappling UNCG freshman Rebecca Burrows (who was also carded) to the ground with two minutes left in regulation. Red cards earn a player an automatic suspension for their team’s next match.
UH already equaled its number of home losses from 2012. UH went 7-1-2 at WPSS last year as part of an 8-9-3 season with a sixth-place finish in the Big West.
Third-year UH coach Michele Nagamine sighed when she heard the shot disparity.
"It’s worse than I thought. I told them, one of the goals I have for the team this season is to be accountable. Be accountable for your actions," Nagamine said. "Don’t blame the other team, don’t blame the ref. We had more than enough opportunities to put the ball away and we didn’t do it. So that’s what we focus on … we didn’t do our job in front of the net."
There was plenty of fancy footwork and speed on display by the Rainbow Wahine — who started three true freshmen — but finishing touches were in short supply.
"It’s nice playing with people that work really hard — I think we definitely should have won, but it happens," said midfielder Hayden Gibson, a Louisiana-Lafayette transfer who had four shots. "I think it’s exciting because it is your first game, and it’s hard to be composed."
Once Pascua and Burrows were sent off the field, it made it a 10-on-10 match in extras.
The first of nine Wahine home matches featured 38 combined fouls, including 25 on UNCG, the 2012 Southern Conference regular-season champion. The scrappy Spartans, who played two preseason matches last week, were issued three yellow cards.
"One of the things we do in practice is, we play to the last whistle in everything we do," UNCG coach Steve Nugent said. "Every activity, every 4-v-4, every 2-v-2, it doesn’t matter what we’re doing. I tell our girls, you will be faced with a situation just like they were tonight. Hawaii was a dominant team. Make no mistake about it. This was a near-impossible place to play with the support this team gets."
In regulation, UH went with a new-look 4-3-3 formation, with Pascua up top surrounded by speedy attackers to the wings and from midfield, including Pascua’s little sister, Kama, who had a near miss in each half among the freshman’s five shots.
True freshmen Storm Kenui and T.J. Reyno started at midfield in their first college match.
Young played well in her first match taking over for four year-starter Kanani Taaca. She often ranged far afield to snuff out attacks before they developed.
UNCG takes on Washington at noon Sunday prior to UH’s match.