Domingo learning on
the field for Hawaii
Jessica Domingo did not know what to expect when she reported for fall practice with the Hawaii Rainbow Wahine soccer team.
She did know Hawaii is a veteran team with 13 seniors. Domingo and her friends had watched a lot of UH matches during her years at Kamehameha, and she had played with and against several of the local players.
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Then there was the fitness test all Wahine have to pass before they can play in a match.
"I was really nervous. They send you the fitness packet over the summer. I tried to run the test, but it is hard doing it yourself," said Domingo, who finished second in the state cross country meet as a junior.
"When I got to UH I knew Joey (Joelle Sugai) and Nat (Natalie Groenewoud) ran fast, so my goal was to keep up with them. As a freshman, I wanted to make a good impression.
"It was really intense. When you run, your teammates cheer you on. I didn't want to stop. I didn't want to let them down. The feeling of togetherness was really good."
She passed the first attempt.
Domingo, who earned either all-league or all-state honors her last three seasons with the Warriors, wasn't sure she wanted to play soccer in college. She wanted to go to the mainland for the experience, considered Santa Clara and Loyola Marymount, but wasn't going to play.
Then, last spring, UH head coach Pinsoom Tenzing started recruiting Domingo and brought her in for an official visit. There also were offers from schools she had no interest in attending.
"I talked to my parents (Patricia and William) about the financial aspects. We decided it wasn't worth being in debt $40,000 a year as an undergraduate," she said. "I would go to UH and then pay the money for graduate school. Besides, I would get to play in front of my family and friends."
The decision has worked out well for Domingo and the Wahine. She saw considerable playing time in the first three matches and has started the last four at one of the two center midfield positions.
"Jessica is just a tremendous, aggressive learner of the game," Tenzing said. "From day one she understood the fact that when the other team penetrates the midfield defense she instinctively has to tack back to double team and help our defenders.
"She constantly battles for the ball in the air, makes room for herself and looks to make passes that penetrate the defense."
Domingo is 5-foot-3, but that hasn't deterred her from playing tough on the field.
"I like being in there when it's physical," she said. "We played USC and all their girls were 5-8 or 5-9. No one expects me to get a head ball, but I like just going up, getting in the way and sometimes I get the ball.
"I thought going from junior varsity to varsity in high school was a big change, but college ball is so different. I just try to learn from my peers and coaches and incorporate what they tell me into my game."
Domingo credits Kamehameha teammate Seline Williams with helping her adjust to the zone coverage the Wahine employ, a change from the man-to-man game Kamehameha coach Michele Nagamine uses.
"You never expect to start as a freshman," Domingo said. "There are five of us competing for the middle positions. I'm just excited to start, run down the line and go to the middle of the field (during introductions)."
"Jessica plays with the composure of a much older player. She is dead serious on the field," Tenzing said.
