Lions frustrate Wahine

LOS ANGELES » Two goals only 65 seconds apart was all the Loyola Marymount Lions needed yesterday to blank the Hawaii women's soccer team 2-0 in a nonconference match at Sullivan Field.

The Lions, No. 21 in the latest Soccer America Poll, took the lead on Lauren Shanklin's shot from the top of the box at 65:02. They received insurance when Jamie Bell broke clear in the middle of the field and chipped a shot at 66:07 over Rainbow Wahine goalkeeper Kori Lu who had to come off the goal line to challenge the one-on-one situation.

"The two goals were because of a lack of concentration by the defense in a big way. This can happen when you control large chunks of the game," UH coach Pinsoom Tenzing said.

The Wahine (6-5-2) and Lions (7-1-2) played an even first half. The UH defense worked the offside game to perfection, catching the Lions nine times. The shots were even at four apiece.

The Lions played smarter in the second half and were caught offside just once. Hawaii outshot LMU in the second half 8-7 and had a 4-1 advantage in corner kicks, but came up empty in suffering their fifth shutout this season.

"We completely outplayed them in both halves. Sometimes this game is extremely cruel," said Tenzing. "We had three easy chances to put it away. One hit the crossbar and we did a bad job technically on the other two, shooting over the crossbar. We have to finish our chances.

"We connected with our passes and played beautiful soccer. I feel sad for the kids. I can understand their disappointment because they deserved to win against a nationally ranked team."

It was Hawaii's third consecutive defeat, the longest Wahine losing streak of the season and the longest since the 2002 campaign. The Wahine are 1-3-1 on the road this year.

Hawaii starts the Western Athletic Conference season Friday with a match at Idaho.