Box Score
WAIPAHU, O`ahu - San Jose State played the role of spoiler, dropping Hawai`i, 4-2, on Senior Night at Waipio Peninsula Soccer Stadium. Nicole Irwin's hat trick lifted the Spartans to victory and gave the Rainbow Wahine (8-8-2, 2-3 WAC) a loss in their home season finale for the second straight year.
Cristin Murphy's goal gave the Spartans a 1-0 halftime lead, while all three of Irwin's goals came in the second half as San Jose State (7-8-2, 4-0-1 WAC) remained in first place in the Western Athletic Conference. Meanwhile, Hawai`i - the 2005 regular season WAC champs - are out of title contention with losses in each of its last two home matches. It marked the first time since 1997 that UH has lost back-to-back home conference matches. It was also UH's first loss to San Jose State in the last eight matches.
Hawai`i lost despite a spirited comeback effort. The Rainbow Wahine fell behind 3-0 on Irwin's second goal of the night at the 65:26 mark. The Spartans looked like they would cruise to victory but UH scored a pair of goals in less than two minutes time to cut the deficit and get the home fans roaring. Just 17 second after SJSU went up 3-0, Ambree Ako scored on a beautiful left-footer to give Hawai`i life. Kelli-Anne Chang scored on a cross from Koren Takeyama 1:45 later to make it a whole new ball game.
Irwin, however, squelched any UH comeback hope when she scored her third and final goal of the match a 30-yard rip that flew over the out-stretched hand of UH goalkeeper Kori Lu. UH out-shot the Spartans 16-8 for the match, but San Jose State was the more proficient squad, capitalizing on four of its six shots on goal.
The match was the final home appearance for seniors Kelly McCloksey and Brittney Aiwohi, both of whom were honored after the match. UH, holding a .500 record for the first time since the second match of the year, now heads to the road for its final regular season WAC matches of the year. The trip starts with a meeting against Nevada on Friday, Oct. 27 at 7:00 p.m. PDT.
Box Score
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