Sluggish start
dooms Wahine

SANTA BARBARA, Calif. » The Hawaii Rainbow Wahine got off to a sluggish start against UC Santa Barbara last night and it proved costly.

The Gauchos pumped three shots into the net in a 19-minute span of the first half and cruised to a 3-1 victory in the nonconference match.

What might be more costly to UH (2-4-1) is the potential loss of freshman forward Aimee Cohen. She went down shortly after the third goal and did not return to action.

The initial diagnosis is a sprained left knee and she will be further evaluated after the team returns home today.

"We played really badly in the early going," said Hawaii coach Pinsoom Tenzing. "During the long break (while Cohen was being attended to), I spoke with the players. They tightened up the defense and started to play with more confidence."

Darci Gwartz scored the first UCSB goal at 14:54 off an assist from Genelle Ives. The pair switched roles when Ives made the score 2-0 at 20:29. Ives assisted on Katie Smith's goal at 33:58.

"Their goals were good ones, came off one-touch finishes. We left too many people open around the 18-yard line," said Tenzing.

It was the third consecutive win for the Gauchos (4-3), who won the Maryland adidas Classic last weekend with victories over Rutgers and Villanova.

Adria Campbell spoiled the shutout bid by converting a penalty kick at 65:31 for the UH goal after the Gauchos were called for tripping in the box.

The Wahine managed just seven shots, four on goal, as Tenzing tried different combinations up top.

"After we settled down I was pleased with the way we played. I must say that in the last two games (goalkeeper) Kori Lu was absolutely superlative. There was nothing she could do about tonight's goals," said Tenzing.

Lu had seven saves as the Gauchos put 10 of their 16 shots on goal.

The Wahine have a break before hosting their third tournament of the season, Sept. 23-25, with Butler and Robert Morris providing the opposition.