UH victimized by own goal

The lights at Waipio Peninsula Soccer Stadium shut off one by one until the field was nearly pitch black. Near midfield, new Hawaii coach Michele Nagamine provided her own illumination as she lit into her team.

UH clawed back from an early two-goal deficit, but a costly own goal and lackluster play down the stretch doomed the Wahine as North Dakota State prevailed 3-2 in the Ohana Hotels and Resorts No Ka Oi tournament on Saturday night.

Afterward, Nagamine wasn’t ready to excuse her team for some rest for today’s 5 p.m. game against Pac-12 powerhouse California to cap the tourney.

"I was livid," Nagamine said after UH dropped to 0-2 for the season. "I think we have some serious decisions to make. … It was a lack of mental toughness. It’s frustrating when you say the same things over and over.

"UH was known for having passion and fire. We were quiet out there."

After facing a 2-0 deficit in the first 12 minutes of the match, the Wahine — wearing sharp, new black uniforms — got set-piece goals from Brittani Lum in the 28th minute and from Colleen Burns in the 49th to square things up.

But the Wahine rarely positioned themselves for opportunities after that, and the own goal on an inadvertent header in the penalty box in the 63rd minute caused heads to drop.

"(Coach) said we need more desire to play," said Lum, who put in her fourth goal in UH’s last five matches going back to last season.

"We need to play with a lot of intensity. Play the ball fast and really support each other. Be more vocal and communicate. I think that will connect us better."

Unfortunately for UH, it will be tough to pull off a soccer renaissance against Cal. The Golden Bears blitzed NDSU 7-0 in the tourney opener on Friday.

NDSU, the defending Summit League champion (2-1) got off to a quick start when forward Morgan DeMike scored 5 minutes into the game.

UH failed to clear a ball that pinballed around the penalty box into the Bison forward’s possession, and she had a clear shot from 12 yards out to beat UH junior goalkeeper Kanani Taaca.

The UH defense suffered a costly lapse at the 12-minute mark when Danielle Boldenow slotted a through ball past the Wahine sentinels into the feet of Katie Tallas, who dribbled past Taaca and put the ball through from the right for a 2-0 lead.

Lum got UH on the board with 18 minutes left in the first half on a free kick from 25 yards out. Freshman midfielder Alexis Colacchio set up the kick by drawing a foul on a breakaway and Lum made good on it by boosting the shot over the wall of the defense and the goalkeeper into the top left side of the net.

UH used senior midfielder Rachel Domingo on its next successful set piece.

Domingo floated a shot to the back left of the penalty box and Burns finished with a flying knee.

It was Burns’ second career goal, and first since her freshman season. Burns was moved up to forward by the end of the match, but chances were hard to come by in the final 30 minutes.

"Mentality is something athletes struggle with all the time," Nagamine said. "(A solution) isn’t going to come fast. But it’s going to come from them (the players)."

UH has gone 10 straight games at home without a win (going back to last season), one off the school record.