As consolation prizes went, Wednesday’s announcement of the 2016 Big West postseason awards did nicely for the Hawaii soccer team.
The sixth-place Rainbow Wahine (9-6-2, 2-5-1 BWC), who missed out on today’s four-team Big West tournament, received their largest haul since joining the strong soccer conference in 2012. Sophomore midfielder Raisa Strom-Okimoto and senior forward Addie Steiner were named to the 14-player first team, while senior defender Storm Kenui made the 12-player second team.
Senior defender T.J. Reyno and senior goalkeeper Monk Berger were all-conference honorable mentions, while forward Tia Furuta was named to the all-freshman team.
“I was actually really happy,” UH coach Michele Nagamine said. “It was nice that the performances this year, instead of going unnoticed, they were recognized. I think we had some stats to back us up, which made the selection process even better.”
The league’s nine coaches voted but could not select their own players. Regular-season champion Cal State Northridge and third-place Long Beach State split all of the player of the year honors (offensive, midfielder, defensive, goalkeeper, freshman) plus the coach of the year (Keith West, CSUN).
Before Wednesday, UH never had any first-team Big West players other than Tiana Fujimoto in 2013.
Strom-Okimoto, an Aiea High product, had a quiet freshman season coming off a knee procedure. But she exploded onto the scene as a sophomore, recording six goals and tying for the conference assists lead at eight. Her 20 points tied for fourth among BWC players. Steiner, a talented transfer from Northwestern, was fourth in the league with eight goals, including four game-winners.
“They made such good, strong cases for themselves that it was nice for them to be recognized,” Nagamine said.
Kenui, a natural midfielder, finished her career with a third straight second-team selection, but first on defense.
