RICHARD WALKER / RWALKER@STARBULLETIN.COM
Julia Siljestrom of Hawaii stood in the rain during yesterday's game against Idaho just before the game was called.
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Wahine 7, Vandals 0 -- Visibility 0
The Hawaii soccer team locks up the WAC regular-season title with a rainy rout of Idaho
A regular-season Western Athletic Conference championship is nice, but the real work still lies ahead for the Rainbow Wahine soccer team.
Taryn Fukuroku scored two goals in a 51-second span in the first half and Kelli-Anne Chang recorded a hat trick as Hawaii blanked Idaho 7-0 yesterday at soggy Waipio Peninsula Soccer Stadium.
The game was stopped with 15 minutes remaining due to bad weather.
It's the second time in three years Hawaii (13-4-2, 6-1) has won the regular-season title outright. The real challenge awaits in the WAC tournament, where the Rainbow Wahine haven't won a game in six years.
"This is just a title," midfielder Jessica Domingo said. "If we don't win next week, we don't really get anything."
Only the postseason tournament champion automatically qualifies for the NCAA tournament, which Hawaii has never played in.
"It has been our goal all season, and I think this is the year we're going to do it," Hawaii coach Pinsoom Tenzing said.
The Rainbow Wahine earned a bye in the opening round of the WAC tournament, which begins Thursday in Boise. Hawaii will play in the first semifinal game on Friday at 12:30 p.m.
"If we play like we played these last two games, I think we have a great chance," Tenzing said.
The Rainbow Wahine capped an impressive regular season in which they set or tied multiple school records.
Their 13 wins are tied for the most ever and they also set marks for goals in a season (57), shutouts (10) and consecutive home wins (nine). They didn't lose a home game the entire season, which is also a first.
"It was an injury-riddled season," Tenzing said. "We're not up to snuff injury-wise yet, but they have played some tremendous soccer."
Fukuroku's two first-half goals began a 17-minute stretch in which Hawaii scored four times.
Freshman Nicole Mikula stole the ball at midfield and dribbled down the middle before hitting Ambree Ako on the wing. Ako quickly passed it into the middle of the box, where a wide-open Fukuroku one-timed the shot into the back of the net.
Ako also assisted on the next goal seconds later. She had a one-on-one chance against Idaho goalkeeper Anna Sandman, but unselfishly passed it to Fukuroku, who hit it into the empty net.
"I wasn't expecting it," Fukuroku said. "I thought she was going to kick it. I was shaking my head because I was like, 'Dude, just kick it.' "
Ako helped the Rainbow Wahine pour it on as she increased the Hawaii lead to three with a goal in the 19th minute on a pass from Koren Takeyama.
RICHARD WALKER / RWALKER@STARBULLETIN.COM
Hawaii's Koren Takeyama and Idaho's Melissa Canite battled for the ball yesterday. Hawaii won 7-0.
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Chang added the first of her three goals in the 31st minute. She controlled a long ball from Mikula and crossed over a Vandals defender before ripping a shot into the goal to make it 4-0.
Ako added her second goal in the opening minutes of the second half to finish tied for the WAC lead in goals scored with Fukuroku with seven.
Chang scored two more times in the second half to record her first career three-goal game.
It was the final home affair for seniors Domingo, Takeyama, Aimee Watanabe, Shawn Higa and Lehua Wood.
"We wanted to close out the season with a bang for the seniors," Fukuroku said. "Now it's time to win in Boise."