Delayed gratification never felt so good.

Brittani Lum scored on a corner kick by Rachel Domingo in the second overtime and the Hawaii women’s soccer team opened its final Western Athletic Conference season with a statement-making 2-1 upset of Utah State at Waipio Peninsula Soccer Stadium.

After a pause of disbelief while the golden goal rattled around in the net, the Rainbow Wahine bench — with first-year coach Michele Nagamine leading the charge — rushed the field to mob Lum, the senior who slipped the ball through a crowded penalty box with 5:36 left.

A nonconference season of close losses to tough teams is now a memory for UH (2-8). Nagamine’s goal for her team to make the WAC tournament for the first time in three years is a real possibility. UH hosts Nevada on Sunday at 5 p.m.

"This is just, just incredible. This is exactly what we’ve been talking about all season long," Nagamine said.

"When I opened my eyes this morning, it felt like a winning day … (the players) totally deserve it."

Utah State (8-4-1 overall), the predicted preseason WAC champion, walked off the field in stunned silence. UH won its WAC opener for the first time since 2007.

"No words can describe this. It feels soooooo good. You can put extra ‘O’s’ on that," Domingo said. "I can’t even speak right now."

Lum, smiling ear to ear, could barely remember the 105th-minute play. It was her team-best fourth goal of the season.

"It was a great ball by Rachel. I felt something hit my shoulder," said the senior defender.

UH led 1-0 for much of the second half before giving up an equalizer in the 74th minute. Settling for a tie against the projected champs just wouldn’t have felt the same.

"We had to start anew," Lum said. "We weren’t going to give up."

USU was ranked 10th in the West Region this week. Meanwhile, UH was tabbed seventh of eight WAC teams in the preseason and hadn’t beaten a Division I opponent all season. But the Wahine kept the Aggies honest in the early going with several near chances.

Finally, when it seemed the teams would enter halftime scoreless, UH broke through.

A follow-up effort by freshman forward Ashley Haruki netted the Wahine a rare lead with 58.1 seconds left.

Junior forward Skye Shimabukuro got free with the ball in the penalty area and drew attention from the USU defenders and goalkeeper.

Shimabukuro’s ball deflected off keeper Molli Merrill, but Haruki, trailing the play, finished it off with a darting putback before the scrambling defense could recover.

The Aggies’ Lexie Morgan equalized in the second half with a nifty juggle leading into a spin kick in the box.

UH junior goalkeeper Kanani Taaca was able to play after some speculation that she’d miss the match after suffering a possible concussion in practice.