The Hawaii soccer team is packed for the long haul.
To make their final road trip of the season a lasting one, however, the Rainbow Wahine have a lot of work to do — and require some help over the weekend.
UH couldn’t take care of business at home over the last two weeks — it got shut out in a scoreless draw against Long Beach State and a 3-0 loss to Cal State Fullerton — and now must make up for it on the road, on the fields of the co-leaders of the Big West Conference.
But if UH can win at both UC Irvine today and Cal State Northridge on Sunday, and get some other favorable outcomes around the conference, the Wahine could still qualify for their first four-team Big West tournament starting next Thursday at Long Beach State.
“I packed for six days, and I plan to do laundry,” UH coach Michele Nagamine said with a laugh Wednesday, before the team flew out to Los Angeles.
So you’re telling them … there’s a chance.
Seven of nine teams are still in the running. UH, UC Santa Barbara and UC Davis went into the week on the outside looking in, tied in fifth with 2-3-1 records.
“I just think we’re going to focus on Friday first, and then on Sunday,” Nagamine said. “Regardless of (other outcomes), we’re going to make sure we prepare for our opponent the same way and finish as strong as we can.”
For the season, the Wahine are 2-3 on the mainland. They went 0-2 in their only other Big West road trip, but both games, at Cal Poly and UCSB, were competitive.
More so than the rout UH absorbed at home to the Fullerton Titans on Sunday.
“It was just tough, just the connection,” said midfielder Raisa Strom-Okimoto, the BWC assists leader with eight. “Trying to possess the ball, holding the ball. It was a little off, not just one person. It takes a whole team. … things like that happen. (We) just regroup (now).”
They’ll have to do it against the two stingiest defensive teams in the league. Irvine has given up 11 goals all season; Northridge just eight, fewer than one every two games. CSUN’s goalkeeper Jovani McCaskill is tied for the national lead in shutouts with 12.
There was still reason for optimism as the Wahine conducted their final home practice Wednesday.
“Yes, definitely,” outside mid Sonest Furtado said. “We just have to do our job. We have to win both games, it’s no doubt. We can’t tie, we can’t do anything but win.”
On Thursday, Strom-Okimoto was named to the CoSIDA Academic All-District VIII first team. The Aiea High product studies pre-nursing and carries a 3.8 GPA. She is only the second Wahine player to get the academic district first-team nod (Joelle Sugai, 2004).
