Rainbow Wahine soccer team settles for a draw with CSU Bakersfield

Hawaii’s second-half barrage came up empty and an opportunity to overtake CSU Bakersfield in the race for a spot in the Big West women’s soccer tournament slipped away in a 1-1 draw on Sunday at Waipio Peninsula Soccer Stadium.

UH took the lead in the 26th minute when Kelci Sumida scored on a header off of a corner kick from Krista Peterson. The Roadrunners answered about four minutes before halftime, also off a corner kick, when Anela Nigito knocked a shot past two UH defenders into the net.

The Rainbow Wahine finished with 21 shots (13 in the second half) to CSUB’s five, but the Roadrunners (4-7-5, 2-2-4 Big West) preserved the tie to remain a point ahead of UH (5-4-3, 2-2-3) for sixth place in the Big West. The top six teams qualify for the conference tournament.

“We were knocking on the door for the longest time. … We just couldn’t find the back of the net, aside from Kelci Sumida’s header, so back to the drawing board,” UH coach Michele Nagamine said. “I think we left two points on the table and now it makes it a little harder for us.”

UH continues its final homestand of the regular season on Thursday against UC Riverside (2-6-7, 0-4-3) at WPSS.