Monday, October 26, 1998
Wahine’s 10th win
By Al Chase
a program milestone
Star-BulletinThe Hawaii women's soccer team reached the 10-victory plateau for the first time in the program's five-year history last night at Ala Wai Field.
Scoring twice in the first half, the Wahine defeated Fresno State, 2-0, in a Western Athletic Conference Pacific Division match. The win was UH's first in three matches against the Bulldogs and means Hawaii does not finish last in its division for the first time in three WAC seasons.
Hawaii (10-7 overall, 2-4 WAC) finishes tied for fourth place with San Jose State and Utah, but the Spartans get the final Pacific Division tournament berth based on head-to-head results.
The Wahine moved the ball better and created more scoring opportunities than they did in Friday's loss to San Jose State, but the Fresno State defenders were not as tenacious tracking the ball or as well organized as San Jose State's.
UH head coach Pinsoom Tenzing agreed the effort was improved but said his team still fell short of what he expected.
"We got two goals and a victory is a victory," a subdued Tenzing said.
"When you substitute a lot, you tend to lose something, but participation is very important to our program."
Seven minutes into the match, UH's Dawn Dasher slipped a nice pass to fellow striker Tricia Nishikawa on the right side, but Fresno State goalkeeper Jennifer Johnstone made a fine save on the near post.
The Wahine controlled the tempo and the ball much of the first 20 minutes only to see a couple more good scoring chances wasted.
Then, at 21:12, Nishikawa beat two defenders with a run up the middle and rolled a shot past a charging Johnstone that nicked the left post and angled into the net.
"I had chances to put away easy balls, but things didn't go my way," Nishikawa said. "I felt bad because everyone else was working and getting me the ball, so finally I just told myself I'm taking it in."
It was the fifth consecutive game Nishikawa had recorded a point and it was her fourth career game-winning goal, both UH records. The senior extended her school records for goals in a season (8) and career (14).
The second UH score came six minutes later, when freshman defender Erin Schremser took a free kick from the right side about five yards into the Fresno State half of the field. Schremser's long high drive, intended for a possible Wahine head shot, instead sliced backward off the head of a Bulldog defender into the net.
Johnstone, who was moving out for the ball, could only watch helplessly as the ball arced over her outstretched hands and dropped in under the crossbar.
UH goalkeeper and co-captain Amanda Paterson, who increased her UH career record for shutouts to six, said, "I was glad we came back (from Friday's loss) and didn't come out flat. We just had to find within ourselves to play as well as we did. I'm happy with that and it's good to get two WAC wins."
Although Tenzing told his team before the match they have a shot at an NCAA at-large berth because of their strong schedule, it's an extremely long shot (even with the women's tournament expanded to 48 teams).
The final home match is Sunday at 5 p.m. at Ala Wai Field. Hawaii will play Hawaii Pacific in the annual showdown between the state's two women's programs.
WAC Women
Pacific Division
Conference Overall W L T Pts W L T San Diego St 6 0 0 12 15 1 0 Brigham Young 5 1 0 10 14 3 0 Fresno St 2 3 1 5 7 8 3 San Jose St 2 4 0 4 5 14 0 Utah 2 4 0 4 10 7 0 Hawaii 2 4 0 4 10 7 0 Nev-Las Vegas 1 4 1 3 8 8 1
Conference Overall W L T Pts W L T So. Methodist 5 1 0 10 9 8 0 Texas-El Paso 5 1 0 10 13 4 0 Tulsa 4 2 0 8 12 6 0 New Mexico 2 4 0 4 3 12 2 Air Force 2 4 0 4 6 11 0 Texas Christian 2 4 0 4 8 9 0 Wyoming 1 5 0 2 4 12 0Utah 4, Nevada-Las Vegas 0
San Diego State 1, Brigham Young 0
Southern Methodist 5, Tulsa 1
Hawaii 2, Fresno State 0
Texas-El Paso 3, Wyoming 0
New Mexico 1, Air Force 0
Minnesota 2, Southern Methodist 1
San Jose State 1, Hawaii Pacific 0 (2 OT)
Tulsa 2, Texas Christian 1
End WAC regular season
1998 UH Wahine Soccer Schedule
http://uhathletics.hawaii.edu
