Box Score
RUSTON, La. -- Hawaii nabbed its first road win of the season with a 3-0 shutout of Louisiana Tech Friday afternoon at Lady Techster Soccer Field. The Rainbow Wahine, however, placed their immediate concern on star player
Natasha Kai who was carted off the field with a neck injury.
Kai, who scored two goals in the match, was injured with approximately 10 minutes remaining in the match when she collided with Louisiana Tech Chrissy Haisler. Kai lay motionless on the ground for minutes before she was transported to a local hospital. Kai was released hours later with a sprained neck and her status for the remaining three matches is uncertain.
The injury put a damper on a record-breaking performance by the senior forward. UH showed little mercy for the Lady Techsters (7-5, 0-2 WAC), a program in just its second season of existence and its first in the WAC. The Rainbow Wahine out-shot Louisiana Tech, 38-2, with Kai posting a school-record 16 of those shots. Kai held the old mark of 14 set in 2002 versus Long Island. The 16 shots also was a new mark for shots in a WAC match. Sherry Dick of TCU held the old mark with 13 shots vs. LSU in 1999.
Kai converted on two goals, one in each half, as she posted her second multiple-goal performance in the last three matches. The native of Kahuku, Oahu, leads the team with 11 goals this season. Also scoring for the Rainbow Wahine was Koren Takeyama, who buried her second goal of the season in putting UH up, 1-0, 16 minutes into the match. Sophomore midfielder Gabina Bohlman assisted on two of the Hawaii goals.
With its third straight win, UH evened its record at 6-6-2 and remain undefeated in the WAC at 3-0. UH's three straight conference wins have come via shutout and the Rainbow Wahine have out-scored their opponents 10-0. UH's win was its first in six away matches this year (1-4-1).
The Rainbow Wahine next travel west to take on Utah State in their second straight WAC road match on Sunday, Oct. 16. Kickoff is set for 12 p.m. MDT.
Match Statistics
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