[ RAINBOW WAHINE SOCCER ]
Wahine win on road but lose Kai
From staff and wire reports
RUSTON, La. » Natasha Kai scored two goals as Hawaii posted its third consecutive Western Athletic Conference shutout yesterday with a 3-0 win over Louisiana Tech.
Hawaii (6-6-2 overall, 3-0 WAC) unloaded a season-high 38 shots and held the Lady Techsters (7-5, 0-2) to only two.
Kai took 16 of those shots, a school and WAC single-match record.
However, there was a pall cast over the victory after Kai collided with LaTech goalkeeper Chrissy Haisler with 10 minutes left in the match. UH's all-time leading scorer was carted off the field with a neck injury and taken to a hospital.
The senior striker was released hours later with a sprained neck. Her status for the rest of the three matches on the road trip is uncertain.
"Tasha was going for a through pass and the goalkeeper and Tasha arrived at the ball at the same time," said UH coach Pinsoom Tenzing. "Tasha flipped over and landed badly. It was a huge concern because she didn't get up for a long time.
"We got the results and it is not as bad as we thought, although we are still waiting for the CAT scan results. Tasha is walking around, has a huge appetite and says she is going to play tomorrow. But that will be up to the medical people."
Sophomore defender Koren Takeyama started the Rainbow Wahine scoring with a goal at 15:44 with an assist from sophomore midfielder Gabina Bohlman. It was the defender's second goal of the season.
"Koren went on one of her marauding runs and smacked the ball into the corner with her left foot," Tenzing said.
Kai scored her first goal at 38:19 off an assist by Kelly McCloskey to give UH a 2-0 lead at the half.
Kai's second goal, her 11th of the season and 68th of her career, came at 55:08 with Bohlman picking up the assist.
"When we went up 2-0, I played a lot of the young players and they were terrific. They got a lot of quality time and we will certainly need them next year," said Tenzing.
Hawaii goalkeepers Kori Lu and Mahie Atay again split the game, with Atay making the only save necessary in the second half.
Despite the shutout, Tenzing said the Wahine didn't look that good because of the really bad field conditions.
"There were no goals up an hour before the match. There was a bad dip in the field and the ball would vanish. Their coaches weren't there and I finally called facilities to find out if we were going to play," Tenzing said.
"There were no ball girls, so it took a long time for the ball to get back in play. We shouldn't have been made to play on a field like that. No one else in the WAC will play on that field. They will come here and play in the stadium."
The win was Hawaii's first road victory this year.
The Wahine travel today and play at Utah State tomorrow.
BACK TO TOP
|
WAC standings
|
Conference |
|
|
|
Overall
|
Team |
W |
L |
T |
Pts |
W |
L |
T
|
Hawaii |
3 |
0 |
0 |
9 |
6 |
6 |
2
|
Boise State |
2 |
1 |
0 |
6 |
8 |
5 |
2
|
San Jose State |
2 |
1 |
0 |
6 |
2 |
10 |
2
|
Nevada |
1 |
1 |
0 |
3 |
7 |
5 |
1
|
Utah State |
1 |
1 |
0 |
3 |
4 |
7 |
3
|
Fresno State |
1 |
1 |
0 |
3 |
4 |
8 |
1
|
Louisiana Tech |
0 |
2 |
0 |
0 |
7 |
5 |
0
|
Idaho |
0 |
3 |
0 |
0 |
2 |
12 |
0
|
3 points for a win, 1 point for a tie
Yesterday
Hawaii 3, Louisiana Tech 0
Fresno State 1, Idaho 0
Boise State 3, Nevada 2 (2 OT)
San Jose State 4, Utah State 2
Tomorrowy
Hawaii at Utah State
San Jose State at Louisiana Tech
Fresno State at Boise State
Nevada at Idaho