Hawaii will hit the road without two of its top players

You have to be at or near your best to pick up wins on the road in women’s college soccer. Having two of your best players not make the trip would seem to kick victory into long-odds territory.

Hawaii will try to beat those odds in contests at UNLV on Friday and Nevada on Sunday.

The Rainbow Wahine (2-4-1) will be without striker Kama Pascua and goalkeeper Monk Berger. Berger is dealing with concussion-like symptoms from a hit to the head at practice this week, while Pascua was red-carded in UH’s 2-1 win over Cal State Bakersfield last Saturday and must miss the team’s next game by rule.

UH coach Michele Nagamine effectively made it a two-game suspension by leaving Pascua off the travel roster entirely.

"We’re going to roll and focus on who we have and not who we don’t have," Nagamine said. "I’m taking an ‘is what it is’ attitude."

The Pascua situation in particular is of interest. She’s been one of the team’s most productive players over the past two-plus seasons. Her red card against Bakersfield was the third of the junior’s 10-goal career, but the first since her freshman season.

Nagamine recently glowed about the strides Pascua made in temperament after sitting down with her in the spring. But after the latest episode for dissent with the referee, Nagamine decided to take sophomore Spenser Jaye, a reserve, on the road, instead.

"I think those roster spots are coveted and people are working really hard," Nagamine said. "I just felt that through her actions — Kama’s been talked to about her temper before — she made a mistake and she made a bad call. But she’s going to have to deal with the repercussions of it.

"Getting kicked out and leaving her team in that situation (down a player), I felt that she put her team last, so she’s last on my list for road trip travel."

Berger, meanwhile, has played every minute in goal so far this season. But UH has two other keepers it can turn to: junior Erica Young and true freshman Alexis Mata.

Young started 14 matches last season and had two combined shutouts with Berger. Nagamine and goalkeepers coach Marc Fournier said Young will probably get the nod initially, although Mata, of Woodland, Calif., could also see chances.

With or without Pascua, UH has yet to find consistent offense from any one member — seven different players have scored one goal apiece over seven matches. Sophomore Sonest Furtado is among those hoping to change that, and shift UH’s road fortunes as well; the Wahine are 0-2 on the mainland this season.

"I think that we also have other talent on the field, so I think we’ll find a way to find our game and take it on the road and work hard," said Furtado, who’s played through a right ankle sprain suffered in the season opener against Stanford.

UH likes its chances against two Mountain West teams that, like the Wahine, have struggled in spots.

"They hustle, they try to move the ball, they play the game the right way," Nagamine said of Las Vegas (3-4) and Reno (1-4-1). "So, it’s not going to be easy by any feat, but I feel that these teams, we match up with them pretty well."

UNLV has three Hawaii natives on its roster: Brittney Gideon (Mililani), Isabelle Delgado (Moanalua) and Lily Sender (St. Andrew’s). UH co-captain Storm Kenui, also of Moanalua, was teammates with Delgado and knows Gideon well from playing against her.

"I expect us to come out with the same attitude that we came out with on Saturday," Kenui said. "High intensity, and positivity."

Nevada also has a Hawaii product in ‘Iolani alumnus Nikki Mitsuyasu, a redshirt freshman.