Honolulu—After an 11-day, unexpected lay off due to the threat of Hurricane Lane, the University of Hawai'i soccer team will return to action with road contests against a pair of West Coast Conference teams beginning on Thursday.
 
"Although we were disappointed to lose two home games last week due to Hurricane Lane, we were at the mercy of Mother Nature, and things were out of our control," said head coach Michele Nagamine. "The good news is that we are rested and eager to play again; we always ask the team to focus on the things we can control - how we prepare and how hard we work."
 
The Rainbow Wahine (1-1) will visit Saint Mary's (2-2) on Aug. 30, followed by a matchup with Pacific (1-3) on Sunday, Sept. 2. Both squads were picked to finish at the bottom of the WCC standings according to the preseason poll.
 
The Gaels enter Thursday's match winners of back-to-back overtime matchups, including on the road at Vermont, and a neutral site matchup against Maine as a part of the TD Bank Classic. While the Tigers, like the Rainbow Wahine, are coming off their first win of the season, after taking down New Mexico State, 2-1 on Aug. 26 snapping a three-match losing streak.
 
Both SMC and Pacific are familiar opponents as UH last faced off with SMC in 2016, with the most recent matchup against Pacific was a year ago in Honolulu. UH is coming off a loss to Pacific, while their previous match at SMC resulted in a 1-0 victory snapping a five-match losing streak against the Gaels.
 
UH will be looking to ride momentum into the road trip after notching its first win of the season with a 1-0 overtime victory over Bowling Green State on August 19th. Senior midfielder Raisa Strom-Okimoto connected on a 30-yard shot, beating the BGSU goalkeeper for the game-winner in the 96th minute. Redshirt junior goalkeeper Alexis Mata kept the match at a standstill before Strom-Okimoto's heroics by recording her third-career shutout.
 
Road matches against non-conference opponents favored UH a season ago with a record of 3-2, including a three-match win streak spanning from Sept. 5-17 with wins over Idaho State, Arizona State, and Grand Canyon.
 
Both matches will be streamed live via Stadium TV along with live stats. Each match will be covered on twitter @UHWahineSoccer with live in-game updates.