Rainbow Wahine lose in overtime

It went from bad blood to bad ending for the Hawaii women’s soccer team.

Soon after a heated play in the Cal State Fullerton box, the Titans defeated the Rainbow Wahine 1-0 with a breakaway goal in the 109th minute on Sunday night.

In stunning, double-overtime fashion, it ended UH’s 12-game unbeaten streak at Waipio Peninsula Soccer Stadium.

With less than two minutes to play before the match would be called a draw, CSF counter-attacked off a Hawaii corner kick. Erica Mazeau beat the Wahine defense across the length of the field and slid the ball past diving goalkeeper Kanani Taaca.

The Titans bench rushed the field in jubilation to mob Mazeau.

The Wahine were 1:19 away from salvaging a tie after a host of missed opportunities throughout — UH outshot CSF 15-4 in the first 90 minutes — but instead they dropped to 6-6-2 overall and 1-2 in the Big West Conference. CSF improved to 6-7 and 3-1.

"We have a lot of work to do. … We created opportunities tonight that we should have put away, and we didn’t. It got us in the end," UH coach Michele Nagamine said.

Just as surprising as that finish was what almost immediately preceded it.

UH sophomore midfielder Krystal Pascua had a rocket shot from 16 yards go off the crossbar with about 3 minutes left in the final period. She tried to follow her shot, carrying her into CSF goalkeeper Lindsey Maricic, who had gathered the ball.

With the two on the ground, Maricic clearly kicked Pascua in the back in retaliation, and there was some shoving when the two got back on their feet. But it was Pascua alone who was assessed a yellow card on the play — the third of the match, and first on UH.

"I was just trying to go for the ball (in the goal), but I guess I fouled her and then pushed the ball out of her hands," Pascua said. "Yeah (she deserved a card). She kicked me in the back after."

Nagamine said she saw Pascua’s foul and Maricic’s kick, but that she’d have to watch the game replay to be sure.

CSF coach Demian Brown nodded his respect at the UH team huddle after the match. He felt the win could carry his team through the second half of BWC play.

"It’s an emotional game, and it’s a game of swings," he said of the final, heated sequence.

On that play, the ball was knocked free from the box on Chelsea Miyake’s corner kick, and into the feet of Mazeau, who dribbled about 60 yards across the field against Crystal Fresquez.

Nagamine made no apologies for sending up defender Karli Look to assist in the corner attack.

"We pushed Karli Look up, we left (Fresquez) back. We took a chance. We’re not going to play for the tie," the coach said.

"We played well enough to win, we had an opportunity to win, we took a chance and it didn’t go our way. If we have to go back and do it over again, we’d do the same thing. … This team has come too far to play for ties."