WAHINE SOCCER
Wahine, Dons tie, share title
Overtime is becoming a way of life for the Hawaii Rainbow Wahine soccer team, which played its fifth consecutive extra-time match last night against the San Francisco Dons.
Both teams played consistent counterattack soccer and developed scoring opportunities, but each had defenses that held for the full 110 minutes.
The Wahine and Dons finished as co-champions of the Outrigger Hotels & Resorts Shootout after the 0-0 tie before a crowd of 948 at the Waipio Peninsula Soccer Park stadium.
"This was a defensive battle and you have to commend both teams for hanging in there," USF coach Pam Kalinoski said. "It was a game of chances, but we didn't finish.
"UH was a different team than the one we scouted Friday. They played 10 times better tonight."
The Wahine (5-2-2) may have outshot USF 27-7, but the Dons (3-4-1) missed on two uncontested breakaways in the second half and UH goalkeeper Kori Lu stuffed another at the top of the box in overtime.
"It's OK. It's OK," UH coach Pinsoom Tenzing said. "We created wonderful opportunities and it would have been devastating if we had lost.
"We're still playing too many high balls into the middle, but when we keep it on the ground we looked good. And our kids never gave up."
Katherine Kimure gave the Dons a solid scoring opportunity 15 minutes into the match with a good run down the left side. Her cross flew high across the goal mouth and eluded Wahine goalkeeper Kori Lu, but no USF teammate was close enough to get a head on the ball.
Despite making numerous moves into their offensive half of the field, the Dons did not get a shot off in the first half.
With 17:30 gone, USF goalkeeper Katie Hodgson blocked point-blank shots, first by Tehane Higa, then by Kristen Oshiro off the rebound following a UH corner kick.
A minute later, UH midfielder Jessica Domingo sent a left-footer toward the upper left corner from 25 yards out that Hodgson saved with a leaping stab.
Kelsie Look had her shot just miss at the 41:57 mark, hitting the pipes right at the upper-left corner and rebounding out of bounds.
The Dons threatened more often in the second half as Kalinoski moved Chelsea Hunt up front from the midfield. She gave the UH defense fits until UH made an adjustment.
Hunt controlled a bouncing ball and flipped it to Fiona O'Sullivan in the middle just inside the 18-yard line, but her volley attempt was wide left.
A UH counterattack at 53:05 had Ambree Ako slipping the ball between two defenders to Kelli-Anne Chang, who didn't make solid contact with the ball, her shot flaring off to the left.
The Dons came right back and Hunt was open in the middle for an uncontested shot, but sent the ball wide left.
"No. 13 (Hunt) was a mobile target for them and was dangerous," said Tenzing. "When we recognized it, we put a player on either side so she couldn't turn and had to pass back. Our kids stuck to the plan."
Four minutes before the end of regulation, Ako set Taryn Fukuroku up for an open shot. Fukuroku's blast hit the crossbar and rebounded to Chang, who controlled and shot low only to have USF's Jessica Duty clear the ball off the goal line.
With 2:40 to go before OT, Lu preserved the shutout by diving to smother the ball before Hunt could get a shot off.
In the second OT, Ako was wide right by a foot from 12 yards out at 101:19 and Alexis Choi had a shot deflect off a defender just enough to hit the crossbar and head out of bounds.