For Mari Miyashiro and the Utah State Aggies to achieve their goal, they’ll have to do something unprecedented.
The Aggies will play in their second straight NCAA Division I women’s soccer championships Friday at 3 p.m.
Miyashiro, a junior midfielder, said the Aggies set a goal at the start of the season to advance to the second round of the NCAA tournament.
To do that, they must beat Brigham Young, a team that is 10-0 all-time against the Aggies and one of four No. 1 seeds in the tourney.
"We’ve worked really hard to get to the second round," said Miyashiro, a 2010 Mililani graduate. "We had an unfortunate start the last time (against BYU) … and I think we have a lot of confidence going in."
The Aggies, who earned the Western Athletic Conference’s automatic bid after beating Denver 1-0 in the final last weekend, lost by the same score to the Cougars earlier this year.
BYU (18-1-1) finished the season on a 17-game unbeaten streak, while the Aggies (13-2-6) have gone 11 straight without a loss.
"We just had a shaky start against them, but after that we played really well and I expect that we’ll play really well against them again this time," Miyashiro said.
A two-time WAC all-academic honoree, Miyashiro was shocked to learn of her selection to the All-WAC first team last week.
In 21 matches this year, Miyashiro has set career-highs with four goals, six assists and 15 shots on goal and scored seven points in conference play.
"I had no idea that was coming," she said. "I was really excited I got that award. I’ve been working hard trying to get that."
Miyashiro has worked hard since arriving on campus three years ago from Mililani, where she was the Gatorade state player of the year.
She started 12 of her 21 games as a freshman and her first collegiate goal was a game-winner against Cal Poly.
USU had never made the NCAA tournament until last year, when it won the first of two consecutive WAC tournament titles.
Now the Aggies are focused on trying to be more than just a one-and-out team.
"It feels really good being one of the top 64 teams in the whole nation and to be able to make this tournament," she said. "That’s all about the hard work we put in."
Miyashiro said she chose Utah State over Hawaii after visiting the campus, preferring to go to the mainland for college.
She was disappointed when UH left the WAC, missing out on a chance to return home and play in front of family and friends.
"I was kind of bummed that UH left because I really wanted to go home and play," she said. "But a couple of really good teams, including Denver, joined the conference and really it didn’t feel much different."
Miyashiro is one of nine girls from Hawaii with seven different schools playing in the NCAA tournament.
NCAA DIVISION I WOMEN’S SOCCER TOURNAMENT
Games involving players with local ties:
FRIDAY Utah State (13-2-6) vs. Brigham Young (18-1-1), 3 p.m., Provo, Utah
USU: Mari Miyashiro (Mililani ’10) 5-1, Jr., MF
Notes: Aggies won second straight WAC tournament, and Miyashiro was named to the All-WAC first team. She led the team with six assists and added four goals this year — including two game-winners. Stanford (17-1-1) vs. Idaho State (11-5-1), 5 p.m., Palo Alto, Calif.
ISU: Vanessa Cabilan (Kamehameha ’12) 5-2, Fr., D; Ka‘imi Morreira (Moanalua ’12) 5-7, Fr., F
Notes: Cabilan started all 17 matches, recording one goal on nine shots and one assist. Morreira came off the bench in 14 matches and recorded four shots on goal and eight total shots. The Cardinal are one of four No. 1 seeds.
SATURDAY Santa Clara (11-3-6) vs. Long Beach State (12-7), 11 a.m., Santa Clara, Calif.
SCU: Meleana Shim (Kamehameha ’09) 5-4, Sr., MF
Notes: Shim missed three matches this season due to a minor back injury and a concussion. She scored two goals — including one on a penalty kick — and recorded one assist, and she has nine goals in 82 career matches. She’s played in the NCAA tournament all four years.
Pepperdine (14-6) vs. California (15-5), 11 a.m., Malibu, Calif.
PU: Ally Holtz (Punahou ’11) 5-4, So.,
MF/F Notes: Holtz started 10 of 20 matches, helping the Waves host a first-round match for the second year in a row. She’s sixth on the team with 21 shots, including 10 on goal, and she recorded two assists.
Penn State (17-3-1) vs. LIU Brooklyn (10-7-3), 1 p.m., University Park, Pa.
PSU: Tani Costa (Kalani ’09) (RS ’09) 5-8, Jr., F
Notes: Costa started 13 of 19 matches she played in and tallied five goals — including two game-winners — and six assists, finishing with 22 shots on goal. She missed all of last season with a torn ACL. Nittany Lions earned first No. 1 seed since 2007. UCLA (15-2-2) vs. Wisconsin (12-7-1), 3:30 p.m., Los Angeles
UCLA: Caprice Dydasco (Kamehameha ’11) 5-3, So., MF; Alana Munger (Punahou ’09) (RS ’09) 6-0, Jr., GK
Notes: Dydasco started all 19 matches a year after making the Pac-12 all-freshman team. She hasn’t scored, but is tied for third on the team with four assists. Munger has started three games and appeared in five, allowing two goals with nine saves. She’s 1-0-2 in her three starts.
Cal State Northridge (11-4-6) vs. San Diego State (19-1-1), 5 p.m., San Diego, Calif.
CSUN: Haley Chee (Kalani ’09) (RS ’09) 5-6, Jr., MF
Notes: Chee appeared in 14 of 21 matches — starting three. The Matadors were 9-2-3 in games she played and gave up only five goals in those 14 games. CSUN won its first-ever Big West championship, and the Aztecs will join conference next season.
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