Wahine stay unbeaten at home

Hawaii soccer is back in business.

Raisa Strom-Okimoto recorded assists on both goals as Hawaii defeated UC Davis 2-0 on Sunday at Waipio Peninsula Soccer Stadium, keeping the Rainbow Wahine in the thick of the Big West Conference tournament race.

UH (9-3-1, 2-2 Big West) responded from the previous week’s winless road trip to sweep two games at home, in the process clinching the program’s first winning season since 2008, including the first under sixth-year coach Michele Nagamine.

The former Kamehameha and Hawaii Pacific coach said she had an emotional meeting with the team during their walk-through Sunday morning.

“When I was offered the job (in 2010), I wasn’t actually sure I was going to take it, because I was afraid to fail,” Nagamine said of the morning message after the game. “It was kind of a leap of faith. For the kids to help me to get to this point, and to see you believe in each other and really have each other’s back, great things can happen. It’s pretty overwhelming for me.”

UH improved to 7-0-1 at home this season. The Wahine continue their four-game homestand Friday against Long Beach State (6-6-2, 2-1-1).

Addie Steiner scored in the 27th minute on a combined assist from Strom-Okimoto and Lillie French. In the 83rd, Kellsie Gleason put in a rebound of a Strom-Okimoto shot to seal the outcome. It was the sophomore’s seventh and eighth assists, tying her for fourth-most among UH players in a single season.

“I think it’s just knowing the strengths of my players,” Strom-Okimoto said. “I know Addie has speed, Kellsie has strength. So just being able to play to those strengths is what’s key for them to score, setting them up for good opportunities.”

Senior goalkeeper Monk Berger recorded her sixth shutout of the season, one off the record she set as a freshman in 2013.

Berger did not face a shot on goal until three minutes into the second half — but the Aggies (5-6-3, 1-1-1) had a couple of sudden opportunities to put one in.

Berger preserved the lead with 21 minutes to play when the Aggies were awarded a penalty kick on a foul in the box. Berger went to her left, the correct post, and slid to tackle the ball away on the low attempt by Mandy McKeegan.

“As a goalkeeper I’m just trying to get into her head, just trying to look at her and just get inside there and just be like, ‘I know where you’re going!’ “ Berger said. “I found out where she’s going. I did my job, stopped the ball, kept my team in the game. … It was still nerve-wracking.”

Davis nearly found the net with four minutes left in a scrum on the goal line, but UH eventually cleared it away.

“The grittiness and determination that we showed,” Nagamine said, “for sure last year those would’ve been in the back of the net.”

In the 27th minute, midfielders Strom-Okimoto and French combined to send the ball ahead on the left flank to Steiner. Steiner came at the Davis goal at a 45-degree angle and fired the ball right at goalkeeper Alexis Smith, who couldn’t handle the hot shot as it bounced over her on a deflection and in, giving Steiner her team-best eighth goal of the season.