Box Score

WAIPAHU, HI -- Fresno State played the role of spoiler, defeating Hawaii, 1-0, on Senior Night at the Waipio Peninsula Soccer Stadium. A school-record 3,175 fans came out for the final home appearance for five seniors, including all-time leading scorer Natasha Kai.

Despite the loss, the Rainbow Wahine (9-8-2, 5-2 WAC) captured its first outright regular-season Western Athletic Conference title due to Nevada and San Jose State playing to a draw earlier in the day. UH already clinched the No. 1 seed for next week's WAC Tournament with its win over Nevada on Friday night.

The loss to Fresno State also ended a school-record 10 straight conference home wins for UH. The last Rainbow Wahine loss at home came at the hands of SMU, 4-3, during the 2003 season.

The match proved to be a bitter home ending for outgoing seniors Kai, goalkeeper Mahie Atay, midfielder Natalie Groenewoud and defenders Ashley Chaffin and Emily Rose, all of whom started the match. Fresno State got on the board in 15th minute when Nicole Gutierrez headed in a cross from Antonea Lugo and the goal stood the rest of the way. The win thrust the Bulldogs (7-9-2, 4-2-1 WAC) into a four-way tie for second place in the WAC standings.

Making her final career home appearance, Kai tallied a match-high nine shots, but was unable to put any in the back of the net. The senior striker found herself with two, open-net situations, one in each half, but shot wide on both opportunities. With her nine shots, Kai added to her string of records setting a new single-season shot total (58) in WAC matches.

Hawaii next heads to Boise, Idaho for the 2005 WAC Tournament where they will attempt to secure their first tourney title and NCAA bid. The Rainbow Wahine earned a first-round bye as the top seed and will play in a semifinal matchup on Friday.

Match Statistics

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