San Luis Obispo, Calif.—Senior midfielder
Raisa Strom-Okimoto became the sixth player in University of Hawai'i soccer history to record a hat trick with a 4-0 victory over Cal Poly on Friday night.
The victory by the Rainbow Wahine (8-5-1, 3-2-0 BWC) moves them one step closer to a Big West Conference playoff birth breaking the three-way tie with UC Santa Barbara and UC Davis. The Gauchos took down Cal State Fullerton 2-1 on Friday moving their conference record to 3-2, but UC Davis will not play till Sunday and sit with a 2-2-1 record within the conference. The 'Bows currently sit in a tie with UCSB for the No. 3 spot.
"I'm incredibly proud of my team," said head coach
Michele Nagamine. "To grab a win on the road at Cal Poly in the manner we did tonight is a huge statement that our team is hungry and ready to compete. I'm so happy for the ladies; they really worked hard for this one."
Strom-Okimoto got the match going early for the visiting squad with her first goal of the night coming off an assist by junior midfielder
Mikaelah Johnson-Griggs in the fifth minute. Later on in the half, freshman forward
Daelenn Tokunaga found Strom-Okimoto for her second goal of the match in the 39th minute.
Almost as quickly as she did in the first half, the 'Aiea, O'ahu native scored for the third time, this time unassisted, beating a Cal Polly defender off the dribble in the 61st minute.
Strom-Okimoto now sits atop the conference with 11 goals scored and six goals against conference opponents. Her 11 goals put her at No. 8 in goals scored in a single season, and her 21 career goals put her at No. 6 all-time in UH history career goals. She is also the first Rainbow Wahine to record double-digit goals in a season since Tiana Fujimoto last did it in 2013.
The assault did not let up though as Tokunaga joined in on the fun with her second goal of the year in the 60th minute.
Redshirt junior
Alexis Mata shinned along with the rest of the defense as she recorded her fifth shutout of the season on six saves. She is a four-way tie at No. 3 in most shutouts in one season. Mata is tied with Maddie Newsome of UC Irvine for the conference lead in wins with eight, putting her in a tie at No. 8 with the most wins in a season.
Regarding historical significance, the shutout victory marks the first time in nine tries UH has been able to knock-off Cal Poly in program history.
UH is now on a collision course with the Gauchos with a matchup on Sunday in Santa Barbara at 2 p.m. HT (5 p.m. PT) as both teams hold a slim lead over UC Davis and CSUN for spots in the conference tournament.
