WAHINE SOCCER
Rainbow Wahine lose at home
Hawaii's home fortunes of 2007 were nowhere to be seen to start the '08 campaign.
NEXT UP
vs. Denver on Monday
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After erasing second-half deficits of 2-0 and 3-1, Long Beach State handed the Rainbow Wahine soccer team its first home loss in the last 13 games on an overtime goal by Kim Silos as the 49ers prevailed 4-3 in the first game of the OHANA Hotels No Ka Oi soccer tournament at Waipio Peninsula Soccer Stadium.
The loss was Hawaii's first in Waipio since its last home game in 2006.
"This was a particularly difficult defeat because we had the game in hand," Hawaii coach Pinsoom Tenzing said. "We simply cannot give away a two-goal lead."
The four goals the Rainbow Wahine allowed were twice as many than they had given up in any home match last season.
Ambree Ako tied Jennifer Starsiak for fourth on the school's all-time goals list with the 18th of her career in the first half to give Hawaii a 1-0 lead. Chelsea Deptula opened the second half with a goal on a header off a free kick, and even after Kristen Oshiro and Silos swapped goals, Hawaii was still in control with a 3-1 lead.
But then things began to go the 49ers' way.
A foul by Nicole Mikula just outside the box set up a free kick that Lindsay Bullock put away on a header in the 76th minute to cut the lead to one.
Then, with less than 4 minutes remaining, LBSU took advantage of a corner kick to tie the game at 3. After the ball bounced off of at least five different players in the box, it eventually settled on the foot of senior Mariko Strickland. The former Mid-Pacific standout hammered the ball into the top left corner to force overtime.
"We were playing silly," Tenzing said. "We were playing around with the ball too much in the back. We were just playing foolish."
Silos then ended the game 3 minutes into the overtime period with her second goal.
Hawaii will try to rebound when it hosts Denver on Monday at 4 p.m. in the tournament finale.