Hawaii’s Kai again
named WAC Player
of the Year
Hawaii's Natasha Kai was named the Western Athletic Conference women's soccer Player of the Year for the second year in a row last night at the league's tournament banquet in Dallas.
Kai, a sophomore striker for the Rainbow Wahine, is the first player to earn the honor in consecutive seasons since the WAC ended divisional play in 1998.
Marci Miller of Southern Methodist earned the same honor in the Mountain Division in the 1996 and 1997 seasons.
Kai set a conference record with 14 goals, eclipsing her record of 10 established as a freshman. She also had four hat tricks, including a four-goal match at Nevada that tied a WAC mark.
The Kahuku High School graduate is joined on the all-WAC first team by junior striker Robyn deHay. Junior midfielder Joelle Sugai was selected to the second team.
Sugai and deHay played important roles in UH's school-record 13 wins this season.
A transfer from Stanford, deHay is a shifty and knowledgeable ball-handler who has three goals and eight assists, one short of tying the school record.
Sugai, an outside left midfielder from Aiea who has started all 19 matches this season, personifies endless energy on the field as she hustles from one end to the other. She has three assists this year and is third on UH's all-time list with 13.
Hawaii coach Pinsoom Tenzing was surprised that none of the his defensive players received recognition, since the Wahine posted shutouts in six of their eight league matches. The Wahine allowed just four goals in eight WAC matches, three coming against SMU.
"We took a beating," Tenzing said, referring to the voting. "I'm surprised that Mahie Atay (UH goalkeeper), who had such a superb season against seven other coaches, wasn't recognized. I think she only had one bad game.
"I thought all our defenders deserved recognition, as did some of our midfielders. It's beyond our hands. What can you do? I think the kids are really fired up now."
Leisha Makinano, an Iolani School graduate and a senior defender for Nevada, was picked for the second team.
Freshman of the Year accolades went to Olivia O'Rear, a striker from SMU.
Steve Lucas, who guided Boise State into the WAC tournament with a 4-4 league record, was named Coach of the Year.
Rice had the most players, six, named to the two teams, while SMU had five, all on the first team.
The WAC championships begins today with quarterfinal matches at Wescott Field on the SMU campus. The second-seeded Wahine have a bye and will face the winner of today's Rice-Fresno State match tomorrow.
