HONOLULU – After playing seven consecutive games on the road, the University of Hawai'i women's soccer team will return home for its Big West Conference home-opener against UC Irvine on Oct. 8 at 5 p.m. (HT) at Waipi'o Peninsula Soccer Stadium.
 
Hawai'i went 3-4 in its seven road games, but returns home hungry after dropping back-to-back Big West Conference games at UC Davis and Long Beach State.
 
The Rainbow Wahine enter Sunday's game at 5-6-0 on the season and 0-2-0 in the Big West. UC Irvine is 7-3-3 overall and 2-0-0 entering the week, and hosts Long Beach State on Oct. 5 before heading to Hawai'i.
 
UC Irvine's  Kiana Palacios leads the Anteaters and ranks second in the Big West with five goals on the season, and also has three assists for a total of 13 points. Noel Bahan is right behind Palacios with four goals, and with five assists, is tied for the team lead with 13 points. With three goals and five assists, Sydney Carr ranks third on the team with 11 points. Maddie Newsom has been superb in goal for UC Irvine. She enters the week with a 0.81 goals-against average and .807 save percentage. She has five solo shutouts on the season and played the majority of the minutes in two more.
 
Hawai'i enters the week as the Big West Conference's leader in shots (14.55 per game) and shots on goal (6.18 per game). Junior Raisa Strom-Okimoto leads all Big West players with 4.0 shots per game while senior Sonest Furtado ranks second with 3.40.
 
After hosting the Anteaters, UH will host two Big West teams next week, with UC Santa Barbara (Oct. 12) and CSUN (Oct. 15) coming to town. UH wraps up the home-stand with Senior Night against Cal Poly on Oct. 22.
 
Game 12
Who: Hawai'i (5-6-0, 0-2-0 Big West) vs. UC Irvine (7-3-3, 2-0-0 Big West)
When: Sunday, Oct. 8, 2017 (5 p.m. HT)
Where: Waipi'o Peninsula Soccer Stadium (Waipahu, O'ahu)
TV: Spectrum Sports
Live Streaming: HawaiiAthletics.com
Live Stats: HawaiiAthletics.com
Promotions: Bank of Hawaii is the match sponsor and will distribute 100 "therm-o-snack bags" prior to the match. Visit the sports marketing table located near the concession stand for free roster sheets, schedule cards, and posters. Kids (ages 10-18) can register to participate in the "Bank of Hawaii Monster Trike Race" at halftime for the chance to win a $25 gift card. Also, Bank of Hawaii towels will be tossed into the crowd after every UH goal.