Monday, October 18, 1999
Wahine grab sole
By Al Chase
possession of second
Star-BulletinHawaii touched down in the upper strata of the Western Athletic Conference women's soccer standings yesterday.
The Wahine are in sole possession of second place following a second-half comeback that resulted in a 3-1 victory over Texas-El Paso before 320 fans at the UH Soccer Field.
The Wahine now face the task of maintaining that position while playing their final two conference matches in Texas later this week.
Playing their best soccer at home since the Stanford match, the Wahine dominated much of the time, especially after the opening 10 minutes.
Early on, Hawaii seemed destined to continue the long (kick) ball play that marked Friday's Tulsa match.
"We always start with so much nerves and it takes a while to settle down. If we don't settle down in the first 10 or 15 minutes, it's that way all game long," UH co-captain Wendy Miyashiro said.
The Wahine did bring themselves under control, outshot the Miners, 10-6, in the first half, but trailed, 1-0, at intermission.
UTEP's leading scorer, Kim Rodgers, took a through ball, dribbled toward the end line on the left side and beat UH goalkeeper Demarre Sanchez with a tough-angle, left-footed shot at 28 minutes, 20 seconds.
Hustle by Veronica Flores created the situation that allowed UH to tie the scored early in the second half. She chased a long ball heading for the right corner. UTEP goalkeeper Amanda Smith decided to leave the penalty box to clear the ball out of bounds.
However, Flores quickly made the throw in to Dawn Dasher, who passed to K.C. Cornett, waiting 12 yards out on the left side
As Smith rushed to get back between the posts, Cornett scored.
"K.C. showed a lot of composure, protecting the ball, making time for herself and shooting," UH head coach Pinsoom Tenzing said.
"A lot of people think that's easy, but it isn't."
The tiebreaker came seven minutes later.
Kelly Keohen, who had just entered the match, received a pass from Tiffany Makue, playing center midfielder for the first time in her career.
Keohen sent a banana shot from 30 yards out on the right side that ricocheted off the inside of the left post into the net at 58:49.
With 17 minutes left, another reserve, Lea Wakabayashi, made a run up the middle of the field. As three UTEP defenders converge on her, she slipped a beautiful pass to Keohen, who scored with a left-footed shot.
"We were talking to each other. I told her to hit it in the middle when she had to," Keohen said.
"We have lots of talented players here," Tenzing said, pointing to the Wahine bench. "We have to keep them happy."
"I'd like to play more, but I'm not going to get upset about it," Keohen said. "We have a lot of good players and today I played. That's what matters to me."
The Wahine defense was tough in the second half. Sanchez was tested just once and she stopped Kelly Parker from close range with a sprawling save,
"I thought for the first time, they put two good halves together. They kept at it and kept playing the game," Tenzing said.
Texas-El Paso 1 0 - 1 Hawaii 0 3 - 3UTEP: Kim Rogers (unassisted), 28:20.UH: K.C. Cornett (Veronica Flores, Dawn Dasher), 51:50.
UH: Kelly Keohen (Tiffany Makue), 58:49.
UH: Kelly Keohen (Lea Wakabayashi), 73:50.
Shots-UH 19 UTEP 9. Saves-UH 5, UTEP 5. Corner kicks-UH 3, UTEP 3. Fouls- UH, 12, UTEP 13. A-320.
Yellow card-UH: Carmel Hurley (83:10).
WAC WOMEN'S SOCCER
Conference Overall W L T W L T Fresno State. 3 0 1 12 3 1 Hawaii 3 1 0 9 5 1 So. Methodist 2 2 0 10 5 0 Texas Christian 2 2 0 9 7 0 San Jose State 1 2 1 10 6 1 Texas-El Paso 1 3 0 7 7 1 Tulsa 1 3 0 7 7 0Yesterday's results
Hawaii 3, Texas-El Paso 1San Jose State 1, Southern Methodist 0
Fresno State 3, Texas Christian 1
Wednesday's match
Southern Methodist at Texas Christian
Friday's matches
Hawaii at Southern MethodistSan Jose State at Tulsa
Fresno State at Texas-El Paso
Sunday's matches
Hawaii at Texas ChristianSan Jose State at Texas-El Paso
Fresno State at Tulsa
http://uhathletics.hawaii.edu
Ka Leo O Hawaii
