The Hawaii soccer team begins the first of two nonconference road trips today against the Idaho Vandals (1-1-1). The Wahine play Gonzaga on Sunday and Eastern Washington on Monday. [WAHINE SOCCER]
Hawaii hits road for
nonconference gamesBy Al Chase
achase@starbulletin.comHawaii (1-0-0) will travel with 16 position players and goalkeepers Jennifer Churchill and Erin Chow.
The Wahine are in a state of flux. None of the starters are set. Three matches in four days will give everyone, especially the newcomers, a good idea what the demands are each weekend throughout the season.
"It's going to be a tough trip. The players need to take these matches seriously or we'll lose," UH coach Pinsoom Tenzing said. "I don't expect this to be a problem, but we certainly will talk to them about what's at stake."
What Tenzing is looking for is players who work hard and understand their position. Those Wahine are the ones who will play. He can forgive a mistake if a player is out there thinking and trying to execute the game plan.
Hawaii was 0-8 on the road last season.
Road opponents: Idaho, 11-6-2 a year ago, is led by all-Big West Conference first-team midfielders Megan Cummings and Emily Nelson.
The Vandals opened their season with a 4-2 loss to Western Athletic Conference newcomer Boise State in the Diadora Classic at Boise, Idaho. They took third place with a 2-1 win over Weber State the next day.
Gonzaga lost its opener to Oregon, 1-0, on a goal by 2001 Star-Bulletin Player of the Year Nicole Garbin (Baldwin), then tied Portland State, 0-0.
Eastern Washington lost an exhibition to Gonzaga, 4-0, then opened the season with losses to San Diego State and Toledo.
Hawaii has played Gonzaga once, winning in Spokane 3-2 in 1995. The Wahine defeated Eastern Washington 2-0 in 1999 in Sacramento and are meeting Idaho for the first time.
Captains named: Washington natives Veronica Flores and Erin Schremser are the Wahine co-captains for 2001. Flores is from Mount Vernon and Schremser from Kingston. Both are in their fourth year with the program and have started the majority of the matches during that time.
Injury update: Senior defender Carmel Hurley, who suffered a bruised and badly sprained right ankle at 14:17 of the first half against Sacramento State. She has recovered and is on the road trip. Hornets freshman defender Stacey Rowell, who suffered a possible concussion in overtime and was taken to the hospital, was back at practice yesterday, cleared to play.
Around the WAC: The Rice women made their intercollegiate debut a success, edging Army 3-2 last Friday. The Southern Methodist Lady Mustangs, picked to win the WAC, went on the road to West Lafayette, Ind., and topped Miami (Ohio) and Purdue by the same 2-1 score to win the Boilermaker Challenge Cup. SMU moved into the Top 25 Soccer Buzz poll at No. 22. Rice striker Ashley Anderson, with two goals, was named the WAC Player of the Week. UH's Arlene Devitt was nominated for the honor. WAC teams were 9-4-1 the first weekend of action.
UH Athletics
Ka Leo O Hawaii