Rainbow Wahine soccer team bonds at camp

Two nights of roughing it on the North Shore served as a unifying run-up to the rigors of training camp for the University of Hawaii soccer team.

The Rainbow Wahine officially opened preseason camp with fitness testing on Tuesday before heading out to Mokuleia to spend a couple of days camping out in tents and building bonds within a roster of 16 returnees and nine newcomers.

“We have so much diversity in the group, (it’s) really making sure we take the time to introduce them to our culture and our state,” UH coach Michele Nagamine said of a roster that includes five international players. “It’s really nice to see them enjoying that with the thought in mind that, yes, we are preparing to compete.

“Part of that preparation process is building trust and getting to know each other and having each other’s back off the field.”

The retreat was a no glamp-ing zone (although Nagamine was afforded the luxury of a cot courtesy of assistant coach Kaula Rowe), and the Wahine did get their first on-field training session on Wednesday night at Leilehua High School.

“My freshman year we did that and I made relationships I’ll have for life, and (I’m) going to some of their weddings now,” senior goalkeeper Lauren Marquez said of the camping trip. “It was amazing. I learned a lot about (the newcomers) especially, because they were a COVID class so we didn’t get to see them on the (recruiting) visits. So we really got to know everyone a little bit better — especially sleeping on the floor.”

The Wahine returned to Manoa on Thursday morning and held their first full on-campus practice in the afternoon, 10 days before an Aug. 14 exhibition match at Northern Arizona and two weeks ahead of the Aug. 18 regular-season opener at Grand Canyon in Phoenix. The first of UH’s five road trips during the regular season concludes with a match at Arizona State on Aug. 21.

Nagamine heads into her 12th season as head coach with UH’s top two scorers last season — forward Kelci Sumida (five goals) and midfielder Eliza Ammendolia (three goals) — leading the attack. Both were voted to the All-Big West second team last year and share team-captain duties with fellow seniors in Marquez and defender Emily Cottrell this fall.

After having the 2020 season canceled, the Wahine went 2-9-3 last year and ended the season on the upswing. They went 2-2-2 in their final month of the season with wins at UC Davis and CSU Bakersfield in their final road trip of the season. The finale against UC San Diego was called off on Halloween morning due to COVID-19 protocols.

“All of the captains were part of the group that did make the Big West tournament (in 2019), so we know what that’s like and we really want to get back there and hopefully go further in it,” Sumida said. “So we want to instill that mentality in the younger people and hopefully we can start winning more games.”

Sumida drew outsized attention from defenses last season, and Nagamine hopes the return of sophomore forwards Amber Gilbert and Krista Peterson can diffuse some of the pressure. Gilbert sat out last season due to a knee injury and Peterson missed three matches. Nagamine was also impressed by goals by sophomore Mia Foster and senior Taylor Caporus during Wednesday’s session at Leilehua.

“We’re going to be a fun team to watch just because we’re going to have so much pace up top,” Nagamine said.

“We’re starting to see some firepower from different people. … So hopefully we’ll be able to take some of that pressure off of (Sumida) and let her do her thing without getting triple-teamed all the time.”

After the trip to Arizona, the Wahine will make their home debut in the Outrigger Soccer Kickoff. UH faces Seattle on Aug. 25 and Nicholls State on Aug. 28 at Waipio Peninsula Soccer Stadium.