Wahine tie UC Riverside
to end road trip
RIVERSIDE, Calif. >> Hawaii's consecutive shutout streak ended, but the Rainbow Wahine soccer team concluded its first road trip of the season undefeated by tying the UC Riverside Highlanders yesterday.
Hawaii (3-1-1) built a 2-0 lead in the first 27 minutes, but allowed the Highlanders to come back with two unassisted goals for a 2-2 tie in the double-overtime match.
Natasha Kai put UH ahead with a goal at 11:32 off assists by Natalie Groenewoud and Arlene Devitt. Kai made a diagonal run, got the ball in open space from Devitt and beat the UCR goalkeeper.
At 26:48, Devitt found the back of the net with the second Wahine goal.
"Arlene hit a wonderful shot into the upper right corner," said Hawaii coach Pinsoom Tenzing.
The Highlanders cut the deficit in half at 36:08 when Kelly Ferguson made a run down the right side and scored.
"She hit the ball from 25 yards out and it was an absolutely great shot. Mahie (Atay, UH goalkeeper) had no chance," Tenzing said.
Kristi Tanaka's goal a 63:21 knotted the score at 2. Tanaka took a free kick that Atay got her hands on, but Atay couldn't hold the ball and it hit the left post and went across the goal line.
"The grass was too long and gave us a lot of trouble with our passing," Tenzing said.
"UCR was a much better team than we expected. They controlled the second half, but we finished strong in overtime. In the first overtime Natasha took an unbelievable shot from 30 yards out that the UCR goalkeeper had to make a spectacular diving save on.
"Overall we played well on this trip and I would have been very happy with a win today. I think maybe we started to rejoice too soon."
Notes: UH goalkeeper Mahie Atay is the Western Athletic Conference defensive player of the week. Atay helped the Wahine to two road shutouts by making a total of nine saves against Cal State Northridge and Long Beach State. She has a 1.03 goal-allowed average for the season. ... UH midfielder Mia Moe did not play yesterday. She has a shifted right patella and will be examined when the team returns home today.
