Wahine’s soccer gain was worth the pain

All the punishment was worth it.

The Hawaii women’s soccer team arrived in Fresno, Calif., late Tuesday night battered but unbowed and ready for its first Western Athletic Conference tournament in three years.

UH (5-11-1, 4-2-1 WAC) weathered a brutal nonconference schedule — it entered league play with just one win — and played up when it mattered, claiming the third seed in the tournament. It was the team’s highest WAC finish since 2007, when UH won it all and made its first NCAA tournament.

The Rainbow Wahine must win three matches in four days to get back there, starting with sixth-seeded New Mexico State (9-7-3, 2-3-2) on Thursday in the opening round.

"We have basically said all season long this was our goal, to get back to the WAC tournament," first-year coach Michele Nagamine said. "Now that we’re here, with everybody beating each other in conference play … everybody’s shown that they deserve to be here and it’s really anybody’s game right now."

Despite being picked in the preseason to finish its final WAC season seventh of eight teams in the league, UH scored victories over the top two teams, Utah State and Fresno State. The Wahine were the only WAC team to defeat the two, but road losses to Idaho and NMSU cost the Wahine a first-round bye.

The Aggies defeated the Rainbow Wahine 1-0 in a physical match in Las Cruces, N.M., last Friday.

That contest — and missing out on WAC tournaments the past two seasons — was on the mind of senior defender Colleen Burns.

"It means so much. It’s so exciting just knowing that we made it to the WAC tournament," Burns said. "We’re just really excited to play New Mexico State on neutral ground, on a bigger field.

"I don’t think we’re in a position to be overly confident," she added, "but if we just play our game and keep our heads in it, do what we need to do, we can come out with a win."

Indeed, NMSU won’t be playing in the comfort of its own backyard, where it went 7-1-1 this season. The Aggies failed to win a WAC game away from home.

UH almost matched NMSU in that brand of futility, but broke through for a 1-0 overtime win at Louisiana Tech on Sunday to close the regular season. It snapped a school-record 11-game losing streak on the mainland.

UH will have the added benefit of an expanded road roster size for the tournament — 22 players, up from 18. That will help with a stomach bug going around the team and injuries to starters Rachel Domingo and Alexis Colacchio. Nagamine said two freshmen normally in the rotation, Ashley Haruki and Tiana Fujimoto, were also questionable to play on Thursday.

"At this point in the season, everybody’s busted up and everybody hurts," Nagamine said. "They can barely walk without any pain. It’s been a long season, but I think the adrenaline will kick in."

Should the Wahine get past the Aggies, they will face second-seeded Fresno State in the semifinals on Friday. UH defeated FSU 3-0 on Oct. 14 in Honolulu.

The All-WAC soccer awards come out today, including the coach of the year. Nagamine is believed to be a candidate.