[ SOCCER ]
The Hawaii soccer team remained perfect in Western Athletic Conference play with a tense 1-0 victory over Rice last night at the Waipio Peninsula Soccer Park Stadium before 627 fans. Wahine give Owls
the boot
By Al Chase
achase@starbulletin.comIt was the third consecutive shutout for the Wahine, who evened their overall record at 5-5-2 and are 2-0 in league action.
Rice (1-8-2, 1-2-0) played an up-tempo game, but created fewer dangerous situations than the Wahine inside the penalty box.
The opening half was a case of missed opportunities for the Wahine until the final minute of the back-and-forth action.
UH midfielder Natalie Groenewoud was in the right spot to push the ball into the net from a couple of yards out 36 seconds before halftime.
Sasha Araya-Schraner won a ball on the left side just outside the penalty box and, with two Rice defenders on her back, passed toward the sideline to Joelle Sugai, who left-footed a low cross that somehow found its way through flailing legs to Groenewoud cutting toward the back post. All she had to do was change the direction of the ball for her second goal of the season.
Groenewoud wasn't even sure she touched the ball but she was in the mix of players from which the ball rolled over the goal line.
"I think I just got in the way and they hit it in. I don't think I can take any credit for that one," said Groenewoud.
The Owls' best scoring opportunity came at 14:15 when Kristen Gambetta crossed from right to left, but UH keeper Mahie Atay was in position to grab Jennifer Teeter's header from 6 yards out.
Note: Erin Sayegusa, a junior midfielder from Kaiser, scored the first goal at 19:37 from 4 yards out as Fresno State ended Texas-El Paso's unbeaten streak at 12 matches by blanking the visiting Miners 2-0 yesterday.
UH Athletics
