Box Score

LOGAN, Utah - The University of Hawaii Rainbow Wahine soccer team rallied from a two-goal deficit before eventually falling to Utah State, 3-2, Friday afternoon at Chuck & Gloria Bell Soccer Stadium. Abby Hunt scored two goals, including the game-winner late in the second half, to lift the Aggies (7-10, 3-2 WAC) to the win and hand UH (10-4-2, 3-1) its first conference loss of the season.

The Rainbow Wahine dropped out of first place in the WAC with the loss and remained winless in three all-time meetings versus the Aggies with all three losses coming via second-half game-winners.

UH surrendered two first-half goals, one off a defensive miscue and the other off a tremendous Aggie effort. Both goals involved junior forward Candice Clark. Utah State took a 1-0 lead after Abby Hunt put home a penalty kick in the 12th minute. Clark drew a foul and the subsequent penalty kick after she was tripped just inside the UH box as the Rainbow Wahine failed to clear a through ball.

The Aggies scored their second goal in the 39th minute on a counter attack. Utah State sent a diagonal ball from their side of the pitch to a streaking Clark. UH goalkeeper Kori Lu got to the ball first, but her clearance bounced right off of Clark and toward the endline. Clark chased the ball down and fired a left-footer that bounced off the far post and into the empty net.

The Rainbow Wahine, however, would not quit and scored two goals in the first 12 minutes of the second half. UH got its first goal less than four minutes after the break when Jessica Domingo sliced through the teeth of the Aggie defense and slipped a pass to Ambree Ako who nailed home a left-footer from five yards out. It was the team-high ninth goal of the year by Ako and ninth assist of the season by Domingo. Ako has scored or assisted in five straight matches.

UH equalized less than 10 minutes later off a corner kick. Koren Takeyama served the ball from the left corner and found Tehane Higa, whose header skimmed off the inside of the near post. It was Higa's fifth goal of the year.

The Aggies squashed UH's comeback hopes in the 77th minute off of a free kick. Sydne Porter served a diagonal ball from 40 yards out and Hunt volleyed in the game-winner from five yards out for her second goal of the match and the game-winner.

UH concludes its three-match conference road trip with a match at Louisiana Tech on Sunday. Kickoff is at noon CDT.

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