[ UH SOCCER ]

Wahine back at home
to face tough competition

The Hawaii Rainbow Wahine created a lot of momentum for themselves on the road last week. Can they continue their positive play this week in the Outrigger Hotels & Resorts Soccer Classic?

The opponents are Duke (2-2), ranked No. 18 by Soccer Times and No. 20 by Soccer Buzz, and Long Beach State (3-0-1), which has allowed just one goal.

The Wahine (3-1-1) play Duke tomorrow night at 7 at the Waipio Peninsula Soccer Park Stadium and take on The Beach on Monday at 5.

The Blue Devils' losses have been to Tennessee 4-3 in overtime and to Florida 5-1, teams that are ranked 28th and 5th, respectively, by Soccer Buzz this week.

"Duke being ranked is good for us. We knew the Blue Devils would be a quality team when we scheduled them," said UH coach Pinsoom Tenzing.

Eight different players have accounted for Duke's 10 goals. Allison Lipsher, a freshman from Punahou, has started three of Duke's four matches in the goal and has a 2.91 goals-against average.

The 49ers beat Sacramento State, Drake and Iona and tied San Francisco. They have not allowed a goal in the last 327 minutes.

In last year's match at Long Beach State, Tenzing remembers a team that pushed the ball around with control while creating opportunities. With first-year head coach Mauricio Ingrassia in charge, Tenzing will have to wait until Saturday's LBS-Duke match to see what The Beach has to offer this year.

The Hawaii coach expects Duke to play different formations, mainly going with a 4-4-2 or 4-3-3, and to make good use of what opposing coaches have called two brilliant outside midfielders.

"Some of this is hearsay, but we'll see what happens Friday night," said Tenzing.

On UH's road trip last week, the strikers did contribute more to the defensive effort. That pleased Tenzing and made the game easier for the Wahine. He also got good D from the midfielders, especially Jessica Domingo.

This week, Tenzing wants to see his outside midfielders be more offensive, but, at the same time, be aware of the game situation and sense whether defense or offense is the priority of the moment.

"Our outside midfielders tend to be conservative first and I want them to be more proactive. We worked on that in practice this week," said Tenzing.

Tenzing still has players with nagging injuries.

Senior right midfielder Natalie Groenewoud, who missed all three road games, is still limping. Freshman striker Koren Takeyama has a sore hamstring, and junior midfielder Seline Williams a strained quadriceps.

Notes: Outrigger Hotels will give out prizes all weekend, including a stay at the OHANA East Hotel. UH will give out T-shirts after each Rainbow Wahine goal.