Hawaii goalie Amy Carlson was poised to make one more save to cap senior night.
Danielle Lewis, her fellow senior honoree, made sure that wouldn’t be necessary.
Lewis stifled UC Davis’ attempt at a tying goal in the final seconds and the Rainbow Wahine water polo team held on for a 5-4 win on a blustery Saturday night at Duke Kahanamoku Aquatic Complex.
UH junior Caity Lopes da Silva provided the tie-breaking goal with 1:17 left in the fourth quarter and the Wahine protected the lead with two stops in the final minute. UH has had nine matches decided by a single goal this season, with the Wahine picking up their fifth win among those on Saturday.
"So many of our games have come down to (the opponent) having possession at the end of the game and we’re up by one. We’ve learned lessons in the past and I think we exhibited that tonight," Carlson said.
Along with her nine saves, Carlson contributed to the defensive effort with several key steals in front of the goal in the fourth quarter. Ninth-ranked UH improved to 16-9 overall and closed the Big West schedule at 3-2.
The Rainbow Wahine conclude the regular season with a nonconference match Sunday at noon against Cal State Monterey Bay.
The Wahine will likely finish third in the Big West, which would set up a rematch with UC Davis (12-16, 0-5) in the first round of the conference tournament April 27 in Long Beach, Calif.
UH never trailed in Saturday’s match, taking the lead on its first possession on a goal by Mirella Coutinho. Lewis added a goal in the first quarter and Chloe Barr scored two goals, the second giving UH a 4-3 lead going into the fourth quarter.
UC Davis tied the match on Hannah Curran’s goal with 3:03 left and UH answered with Lopes da Silva’s 29th goal of the season.
"She usually takes that shot, but it’s usually about 200 miles an hour, and that one was about 30 miles an hour," UH coach Maureen Cole said. "She took a little off of it and just placed it where it needed to be. So it was a very smart shot."
A steal by Emily Carr and Lewis’ defensive stop preserved the win for the Wahine, who will have close to two weeks to prepare for the Big West tournament.
"I think defensively we’ve grown a lot," Cole said. "That’s always really important going into a championship. It comes down to defense, and we’re playing pretty solid there."
