HONOLULU – The No. 6 University of Hawai'i water polo team (1-1) opened up the 2018 season on Saturday at the Duke Kahanamoku Aquatic Complex, first battling with No. 4 California (2-0) and ultimately falling 9-4, but bouncing back for a huge offensive output to down Loyola Marymount (1-3) on the first day at the Rainbow Invite.
 
Opening up at home for the first time since the 2000 season, the sixth-ranked Rainbow Wahine opened the year scrapping out a tight match against top-level opposition, squaring off with the fourth-ranked California Golden Bears in the second game of action at the Rainbow Invite. It was anybody's game in the early going, but the Golden Bears' offense outpaced the Rainbow Wahine as the game went deeper.
 
Under ongoing winter showers coming down from Manoa, it was over five minutes into the season opener before the scoreboard changed. Cal recorded the first strike at 4:34 in the first, as Emma Wright made the most of a penalty shot for the 1-0 lead. Cal went on to score twice more in a 1:18 stretch near the middle of the second quarter before the 'Bows got rolling.
 
Senior Claire Nixon first put the Rainbow Wahine on the board, taking advantage of a UH power play, netting a skip shot in the corner at 3:38 in the second period. UH again capitalized on a power play just 46 seconds later, as sophomore Maartje Keuning bounced a score around the keeper to trim the deficit to a lone goal.
 
Setting up a momentum move, the Golden Bears made the most of a Hawai'i turnover and two UH exclusions, scoring the half's final goal with one second on the clock for a two-score lead into the break.
 
The second half favored Cal, outscoring the Rainbow Wahine 5-2, as Keuning and Femke Aan kept Hawai'i within striking distance, but the Golden Bears held and closed out the 9-4 win.
 
Keuning finished the opening match with two goals to lead Hawai'i, while senior Goalkeeper Ymane Hage produced eight saves and five steals in the first contest.
 

2018 Rainbow Invite Day 1: January 20, 2018
Duke Kanamoku Aquatic Complex - Honolulu, O'ahu
Scoring by Quarters
#4 California (1-0)	1	3	3	2	- 9
#6 Hawai'i (0-1)	0	2	1	1	- 4
Cal Scoring:  Anna Illes (3), Emma Wright (3), Dora Antal (1), Carla Carrega (1), Elli Protopapas (1)
UH Scoring: Maartje Keuning (2), Femke Aan (1), Claire Nixon (1)

 


Fans saw a completely different aggressiveness when the Rainbow Wahine returned to take on 23rd-ranked Loyola Marymount in the Invite's nightcap on the opening day. Improved Hawai'i passing and shot selection produced two hat tricks and eight players scoring on the night.
 
The rain that was intermittent at midday turned steady and heavy in the evening, but Nixon and junior Irene Gonzalez rained goals on the Lions in the first quarter, knocking down a pair each to push UH ahead by four in the shutout opening stanza.
 
The Rainbow Wahine kept the Lions' offense fully checked through 11 minutes of action, but Hana Vilanova tacked up an LMU goal coming out of a Lions timeout and Abbey Grosse used an exclusion to score with seven seconds to the break, cutting the UH lead in half.
 
However, freshman center Lalelei Mata'afa fired up not only the UH faithful in the stand, but the Rainbow Wahine bench, launching a 3/4-court bomb for the final score of the half in the first two seconds of her career.
 
Although the third quarter was more evenly matched,  Gonzalez hit her first hat trick of the year and 22nd of her career, while senior Chloe Barr and Aan joined the scorers list, while UH built an 8-4 UH advantage.
 
The final period of the night saw Hawai'i's offense cut loose, reeling off five goals to LMU's two. Freshman Carmen Baringo not only saw her first career goal, she quickly converted it to her first hat trick, firing three goals in a three-minute span. With two additional scores from Samantha Malouff and Samantha Shaw, the Rainbow Wahine earned the 13-6 victory.
 

2018 Rainbow Invite Day 1: January 20, 2018
Duke Kanamoku Aquatic Complex - Honolulu, O'ahu
Scoring by Quarters
#23 Loyola Marymount (1-3)	0	2	2	2	- 6
#6 Hawai'i (1-1)	4	1	3	5	- 13
LMU Scoring: Abbey Grosse (2), Morgan Molloy (2), Hana Vilanova (2)
UH Scoring: Carmen Baringo (3), Irene Gonzalez (3), Claire Nixon (2), Femke Aan (1), Chloe Barr (1), Samantha Malouff (1), Lalelei Mata'afa (1), Samantha Shaw (1)

 


The Rainbow Invite continues early on Sunday, opening with California taking on Loyola Marymount at 9:00 a.m., while UH faces Marist at 10:15 a.m.