Thursday, October 18, 2001
The disappointing 3-2 loss to Rice on Sunday put a crimp in Hawaii's goal of winning the regular-season Western Athletic Conference women's soccer title. Wahine creating chances,
but not finishingBy Al Chase
achase@starbulletin.comUH coach Pinsoom Tenzing stated then the Wahine would need some help if they were to dethrone Southern Methodist.
The best help may come from having the home-field advantage in four of the six remaining conference matches. The Wahine have lost seven of their last eight matches, but six of those defeats came on the road.
"They are all winnable games, especially the home games. Travel takes a huge toll, whether we go there or they come here," Tenzing said.
The Wahine still have the attainable goal of being one of six teams to qualify for the WAC postseason tournament. And, it would not be out of the question for them to finish in second place. That would give them a first-round bye in the tournament.
Opponents: Texas-El Paso and Southern Methodist Wahine soccer
When: Tomorrow, 7 p.m.; Sunday, 5 p.m.
Where: Waipio Peninsula Soccer Stadium.
TV: Both matches on KFVE-TV (Channel 5).
Radio: None.
Admission: Free.
Series record: Hawaii has split two matches with UTEP, SMU leads 2-0-1.
Last meeting: The Miners prevailed at home 1-0 last year while UH and SMU tied here 0-0 Oct. 22, 2000.
Top scorers: UH, Arlene Devitt, 5 goals. UTEP, Holly Cohen, 7 goals. SMU, Kim Harvey 7 goals.
"We're talking the holistic view of things and also going game by game," said Tenzing. "The sad thing about the Rice game is they (UH) played well enough to win. We'll have further discussion as to why they didn't."
Hawaii (1-1 WAC, 4-7 overall) averages 1.3 goals per match. This weekend's opponents have fared slightly better. Texas-El Paso averages 1.8 and SMU averages 2.1 goals per match.
The Wahine have been successful in creating scoring chances, but getting the ball into the net has been a problem.
"In terms of getting the ball into the goal, lots of mysterious things happen. All the work is done and we've opened up the strikers. They are actually creating wonderful opportunities for themselves, and the brilliance of the players gets them to one on one with the goalkeeper," said Tenzing.
"At this point, I sit back and say it's punishment enough if she can't score. It's a matter of luck whether the ball goes in or not and the goalkeeper has something to say about it."
Defensively, Hawaii allows 2.2 goals per match, with starting goalkeeper Jennifer Churchill holding opponents to 1.9 goals per match.
The transfer from DeAnza Junior College chose UH over Stanford, Pacific and Cal State Sacramento. She is making the transition but said "I'm still learning. I think I have a long way to go."
Churchill finds the speed of the game faster at the Division I level and thinks the approach of her teammates differs from her junior college days.
"Everyone here loves the game, and they really want to play," Churchill said.
UTEP is 1-2-1 in the WAC and 3-7-2 overall. SMU is 4-0-0, 9-3-0.
Injury report: Kalena Eaton, injured in the Cal State Northridge match, will have surgery Monday to repair torn cartilage in her right knee. The sophomore midfielder from Baldwin High School is out for the season.
UH Athletics
Ka Leo O Hawaii