Thursday, October 15, 1998
Wahine happy to be home
By Al Chase
Star-BulletinThe San Diego State women's soccer team has discovered a pleasant comfort zone in Western Athletic Conference Pacific Division competition. The Aztecs have won all three league matches by the same 4-0 score.
Hawaii, on the other hand, seeks comfort from victories this weekend. The Wahine are back on the familiar turf of Ala Wai Field, where they are 5-1 in 1998.
The questions for the Wahine (7-5 overall, 0-2 WAC) are whether or not this is the weekend they finally win their first conference match. And, will the losing streak, now at four matches, end.
"We have no injuries and we're coming home after playing a very good last game on the road. Demarre Sanchez was superlative in the goal against Weber State. All that is positive," UH head coach Pinsoom Tenzing said.
"San Diego State is very tough. I'm looking forward to a good game Friday because we play very well at home."
Lori LaCoursiere, a 5-foot-9 forward, and 5-6 midfielder Catherine McGuire, with nine and eight goals, respectively, lead an Aztec offense that has produced 36 goals in 14 matches.
SDSU's Katherine Judkins is the WAC's top goalkeeper, allowing just six goals in 13 matches. She has posted four of the Aztecs' eight shutouts.
San Diego State (12-1, 3-0) provides the opposition tomorrow night at 7 at Ala Wai Field. The Nevada-Las Vegas Rebels (a 4-0 loser at SDSU yesterday) play the Wahine Sunday at 7 p.m.
Tenzing also is positive the Wahine will make a return trip to Provo, Utah, site of the WAC postseason tournament. He says the experiences of the recent road trip will prove beneficial then.
"We are going to the WAC tournament because we have four (conference) games at home," Tenzing said. "On our last road trip, the altitude seemed to have a huge impact on our performance, but we got better the longer we were there. The girls will know what to expect when we go back."
Senior midfielder Tricia Nishikawa leads the Wahine with five goals while sophomore forward Dawn Dasher has scored four.
Nishikawa needs one more goal to tie Nicki Arakawa for first place on the career list with 12.
SERIES HISTORY: San Diego State leads the series with Hawaii, 3-0, and won last year's match, 5-1. UH and UNLV are meeting for the first time.
COMMON OPPONENTS: The Aztecs defeated UCLA, 1-0; San Diego, 4-2, and CS Northridge, 1-0, while the Wahine lost to UCLA, 4-1; beat San Diego, 2-0, and topped Northridge, 2-0.
THE COACHES: Tenzing, in his fifth year at UH, has an overall record of 26-50-5 (.352). SDSU's Chuck Clegg is in his sixth season and has a 66-31-4 (.673) record. UNLV's Staci Hendershott is in her first year as a head coach.
WAC Women
Pacific Division
Conference Overall W L T Pts W L T San Diego St 3 0 0 6 12 1 0 Brigham Young 2 0 0 4 11 2 0 Utah 1 1 0 2 9 4 0 Nev-Las Vegas 1 1 1 3 8 5 0 Fresno St 1 1 1 3 5 6 3 Hawaii 0 2 0 0 7 4 0 San Jose St 0 3 0 0 1 11 0
Conference Overall W L T Pts W L T Tulsa 2 0 0 4 9 4 0 So. Methodist 2 0 0 4 6 6 0 Texas-El Paso 2 1 0 4 10 5 0 Texas Christian 1 1 0 2 7 5 0 Air Force 1 1 0 2 5 8 0 New Mexico 0 3 0 0 1 11 2 Wyoming 0 2 0 0 3 9 0
San Diego State 4, UNLV 0
Texas-El Paso 2, New Mexico 1
Brigham Young at San Jose State
Utah at Fresno State
San Diego State at Hawaii
Tulsa at Texas-El Paso
Southern Methodist at Air Force
Texas Christian at Wyoming
http://uhathletics.hawaii.edu
