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Tiana Fujimoto was thoroughly unimpressed with her feat of feet.
The junior forward became the first Hawaii soccer player in four years to net a hat trick in UH’s 4-1 win over Idaho State on Friday in the first night of the Outrigger Hotels and Resorts Soccer Classic.
Fujimoto scored in the 28th, 69th and 86th minutes at Waipio Peninsula Soccer Stadium. Britta Bourne was the last Wahine to turn a trifecta, at Idaho in 2009. The three goals gave Fujimoto four in her past two matches.
"I dunno. I guess it was just the advantage of playing at home again in front of all my family," Fujimoto said when asked about her accomplishment.
Fujimoto, a 5-foot sparkplug out of Moanalua High, placed a little more weight on UH (3-2) picking up its first home win of the season and third straight overall, coming off momentous road wins over Pac-12 opponents Oregon and Oregon State.
"It meant a lot to us because we lost our last two home games and we had to keep our wins going," Fujimoto said.
The third multi-goal match of Fujimoto’s three-year career moved her into a tie for eighth place on the UH career goals list at 15. On each of her scores, she flat beat the Bengals to the ball in the box with her impressive speed.
Earlier Friday, Florida Gulf Coast defeated Portland State 1-0 in the tournament opener. UH gets PSU (2-4) at 5 p.m. on Sunday, after Florida Gulf Coast vs. Idaho State at 2:30.
UH sought a return to form on the peninsula, where it was 0-2 this year — a relative anomaly. as it has dropped only three of its past 17 there going back to 2011.
Consider that accomplished with the Wahine’s highest scoring output since a 5-4 win at UNLV at last season’s outset. UH outshot Idaho State 23-4.
As usual, UH gave up significant size to its opponent but had the technical prowess to get by the beefy Bengals.
"I didn’t want to take anything for granted going into this game, I knew (Idaho State coach Allison Gibson’s) teams are always fired up," UH coach Michele Nagamine said. "It’s been really, really personally rewarding to see the progress that (we are) making."
Hawaii midfielder Krystal Pascua assisted on two goals, including one by Ryan Daniel in the 79th minute for a 3-0 lead and the freshman’s first career score.
UH lost its bid for a third straight shutout shortly thereafter, a putback by Amanda Ellsworth, but still won comfortably for the first time this season.
Idaho State (2-4), the defending co-champion of the Big Sky Conference, lost its fourth straight match.
Two local products on the Bengals roster, Vanessa Cabilan (Kamehameha) and Ka‘imi Morreira (Moanalua) played a combined 67 minutes off the bench.
UH went without starters Hayden Gibson (red carded vs. Oregon State) and T.J. Reyno (sprained ankle). Ashley Haruki and Alexis Colacchio received starting nods in their stead.
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