Another Big West Conference road setback has the Hawaii soccer team in scramble mode.
The Rainbow Wahine fell 2-0 at UC Riverside on Sunday, putting them in a hole heading into home matches against UC Santa Barbara and Cal Poly this weekend.
"We’re in a must-win situation just to keep our Big West tournament dreams alive," UH coach Michele Nagamine said in a postgame phone interview.
UH (5-6, 0-2 BWC) needs a top-four finish among nine teams to qualify for the tourney and has just six league matches remaining. The Highlanders (5-7-1, 2-0) dealt Nagamine’s club another setback following UH’s heartbreaking 2-1 loss in overtime at Cal State Fullerton on Friday.
Nagamine questioned a lack of effort and execution by unnamed key players after this one.
"We found a different way to lose," Nagamine said with a rueful laugh. "I was absolutely livid after the game. The meeting after the game was not a pleasant one. I pointed some fingers and held people accountable for the lack of action. They have to step up and be the women."
It was UH’s first shutout defeat in five matches and the fourth time it was blanked this season. The Wahine remained winless in seven Big West road matches since they joined the league in 2012.
UH controlled action in the first half, in which it outshot Riverside 8-3. But the Highlanders did their damage in the second period, first by a penalty-kick goal by Tyler Cunningham in the 54th minute. The kick was awarded on what Nagamine described as a dubious hand-ball violation in a crowded penalty box.
"I would not have made that call; it was just too close of a game to let something stupid like that be called," she said. "There were so many other opportunities where there were fouls or hand balls everywhere."
Riverside tacked on a 27-yard insurance score by Kaitlin Anzalone from straightaway in the 79th minute when the Wahine did not apply adequate pressure.
"We were pressing them, we were on the attack, and then we do something stupid like that and there’s no chance (at a comeback)," the coach said.
Much of Nagamine’s frustration was borne from UH going away from its possessive style; the Wahine were baited into several tussles with the physical Highlanders.
"The fault is ours. We didn’t stick to our game plan," she said. "We got sucked into their plan and that’s not how we play. So that didn’t work for us very well."
