Saturday, October 3, 1998
Wahine shoot down
By Al Chase
Villanova
Star-BulletinThe Hawaii Wahine put a victory on the ledger at Ala Wai Field last night, but thoughts of another winning streak could be short-lived for two reasons.
One is tomorrow's opponent, UCLA (8-1-1), ranked as high as No. 12 by Soccer America, and described by UH head coach Pinsoom Tenzing as "big, strong, very, very good and with speedsters up front you can't imagine.
"And, guess what? They (the speedsters) come off the bench."
The second reason, a loss of focus by the Wahine (7-1) because of happenings on the field such as rough play or inconsistent officiating would only magnify the task of competing intelligently against a nationally ranked team.
There were examples of both in Hawaii's 3-2 win over Villanova last night.At 71 minutes, UH's Kammie Aguada was whistled for pushing a Villanova player. The play's action left Aguada on the ground on all fours, where she was kneed in the ribs by the visitor.
But, it was Aguada who received the yellow card, the first of three given Hawaii players by referee Peter Wolff.
A minute later, UH's Dawn Dasher received a yellow card for a deliberate push. This one and the one defender Erin Schremser got for holding after being beaten on a breakaway were deserved, but fell into Tenzing's silly category.
"We can't afford to do that," Tenzing said. "It's just very, very silly, a lack of concentration, and then playing to the crowd . . . it's a childish thing we need to put behind us."
"I don't think it's going to be a problem, because UCLA won't be like these guys. These guys got frustrated and started grabbing and doing everything they could. UCLA is not going to get frustrated," Dasher said.
Tenzing brought up one fact in his postgame analysis that got his player's attention. Four yellow cards during the season and you are ineligible for the Western Athletic Conference playoffs.
The Wahine controlled much of the early action. The best of three good opportunities was a shot by Malie Beter that Wildcat goalkeeper Janel Schillig punched wide at 20 minutes.
The Hawaii pressure paid off soon after when Wendy Miyashiro chipped a pass into the goal area that Veronica Flores headed to Dasher, who found the net with a 4-yard head shot at 21:48.
But the Wildcats (4-5-2) came right back. Sarah Rowland beat UH goalie Demarre Sanchez at 25:50 after taking a through ball in what the UH defenders obviously felt was an offside position.
The Wahine regained the lead for good when Tui Moe headed Megan Lytle's corner kick into the net at 41:10 from 12 yards out.
Hawaii made it 3-1 at 47:24 when Camille Kalama converted a penalty kick after Dasher had been taken down in the penalty box.
Dasher's first-half goal was her first since scoring three on the opening weekend of play. Yet the scoring drought wasn't a problem for the sophomore striker.
"We're getting scoring out of everybody and that's the most important thing because you need more than one goal scorer," said Dasher, UH's top goal scorer with four. "I'm looking at it that it's a plus that other people are getting goals. It is nice to get one every now and then, but as long as we're scoring goals and winning games, that's what matters most."
With several of the Wahine regulars sitting out the second half in preparation for tomorrow's UCLA match and the Wildcats desperately trying to overcome a two-goal deficit, artistic play was at a premium. Twenty-five fouls were whistled after intermission.
The Wildcats, with two ties in their last three matches, almost forged another when Keri Lages took advantage of poor communication by the UH defense and headed the ball over onrushing goalie Amanda Paterson at 85:10.
Although the Wahine showed that they left the first-half blues experienced on last week's road trip on the mainland, Tenzing remains frustrated when his team lapses into a kick-and-run mode.
"I'm still not satisfied with the ball control. We are giving up many, many opportunities to play a game that is easy to the eyes," Tenzing said. "I'm begging them to do it, but their nervousness and confidence factor . . . they're opting not to do it too many times. That's my grievance."
UCLA's first match in the Outrigger Hotels Resorts No Ka Oi tournament is tonight at 7 against Villanova at the Ala Wai Field.
RECORDS: The Wahine have 19 assists, breaking the record of 18 set in 1995. The seven victories matches UH's single-season high established in 1997. The 23 fouls called against UH ties the single-game record set at Sacramento State in 1994.
http://uhathletics.hawaii.edu
