HONOLULU— The University of Hawai'i is set to begin its 2022 regular season schedule by starting on the road for only the third time in program history and the first time since 2012. The Rainbow Wahine will begin with a visit to WAC favorite, Grand Canyon on Thursday followed by a stop at Arizona State on Saturday. 
 

HAWAI'I (0-0-0) @ GRAND CANYON (0-0-0)  | @ ARIZONA STATE (0-0-0)
Date | Time				Thursday, Aug. 18th, 7:00 p.m. MT (4:00 p.m. HT) | Sunday, Aug. 21st, 7:00 p.m. MT (4:00 p.m. HT)
Location				Phoenix, Ariz.-- GCU Stadium | Tempe, Ariz. -- Sun Devil Soccer Stadium
Television				Thursday (ESPN+) | Sunday (Pac 12 Network)
Live Stream				Thursday | Sunday
Live Stats				Thursday | Sunday
PDF Notes				Hawai'i | Grand Canyon | Arizona State
Social Media				@HawaiiWSoccer  | #HawaiiWSoccer | @HawaiiWSoccer
Promotions				None
Important Game Day Information				None

 
  
HEAD COACH MICHELE NAGAMINE
Overall Record: 63-93-18
At Hawai'i: Same

SERIES VS GRAND CANYON | VS ARIZONA STATE
Overall vs. GCU: 2-0
Last meeting: Sept. 23, 2018, 4-0 UH
Streak: W2

Overall vs. ASU: 1-2-0
Last meeting: Sept. 15, 2017, 1-0 OT UH
Streak: W1


ON THE PITCH

• UH enters the 2022 regular season with 27 student-athletes and 26 active players, ranging from 16 returnees to 10 newcomers. 
• The 'Bows had one tune-up before Thursday's match with Grand Canyon, playing to a 1-1 tie in an exhibition with Northern Arizona on Sunday, Aug. 15. Senior forward Kelci Sumida took a pass from senior midfielder Eliza Ammendolia, netting the 'Bows lone goal in the 38th minute. 
• In 2021, UH scored a goal in each of their two exhibitions against NCAA Division II opponents. In the first four matches of the season against NCAA Division I foes, UH did not tally a single goal, playing a total of 388 minutes and 10 seconds before scoring the first goal of the season in match No. 5 against Idaho. 
• The exhibition against NAU did give a glimpse into the potential lineup for the 'Bows in the early going. Seven of the 11 starters recorded starts for UH a year ago; the other four spots featured redshirt freshman Amber Gilbert, graduate transfer Bailey Faulkner, along with the freshman defense duo Zoe Park and Penny Noland. 
• UH has recently matched up with both GCU and ASU, as they traveled to Tempe, Ariz., in 2017, coming out 1-0 in overtime, and hosted GCU in 2018, resulting in a 4-0 victory. In 2018, UH was scheduled to host ASU in the Rainbow Wahine Soccer Invitational along with Montana. The matches were canceled due to a potential hurricane threat to the island of O'ahu. Luckily the hurricane never made landfall. 

MIDDLE OF THE PACK AND UNSUSPECTING
The Big West Conference announced the preseason coaches poll shortly before the start of the season, and following a 2-9-3 campaign the year before, UH was slotted at No. 7 overall. One spot below the previous year and above where they finished the previous season. Interestingly enough, the conference recently changed its playoff landscape where six teams can qualify for the postseason rather than just four. The 'Bows' first and only time playing in the Big West Conference postseason was in 2019 as the No. 4 seed. According to the conference coaches, UH is right on edge this year of making its way back. 

NO LONGER AN UP AND COMER
For the past several years, forward Kelci Sumida has been at the forefront of the UH soccer program as the future star. She enters the season as a previous honorable mention and Second-Team All-Conference player while being named to the Preseason Team in 2022. Sumida led the team in goals scored in 2021 with five and will be looked at as the No. 1 scoring threat for UH in her final season. In 2022, the future is now for Sumida and the 'Bows. 

PROTECTOR OF THE NET
Graduate Lauren Marquez waited, and waited for her opportunity to wear the different color jersey as the goalkeeper for the 'Bows, and in 2021 she showed what she was capable of when given a chance. She started in all 14 matches, picking up 58 saves, and tallied two shutouts in her first season. The sky is the limit for Marquez in 2022 as she inherited a back line who, like her, didn't have much experience at the collegiate level. Marquez is joined by seven others who racked up minutes for UH a year ago and whose job was to fend off would-be scorers. 

A LITTLE HELP FROM THE PORTAL
Hawai'i is no different from the ups and downs of the transfer portal life every program lives in now. The direct impact on the positive side is adding experience to a roster. Graduate transfer Bailey Faulkner comes to UH from Loyola-Chicago, where she logged over 900 minutes in the midfield as a senior, scoring a goal and picking up four assists. Her production will be valued in the 'Bows scheme, and her prior experience in conference tournaments could also be handy. Joining Faulkner as transfers are Japan natives Nohara Takayama and Risa Ogasawara. Takayama registered nine goals and eight assists in two years at Keiser University, while Ogasawara tallied nine assists in the same time frame, both playing midfield. 

BONNIE AND CLYDE
Head coach Michele Nagamine is entering her 12th season at the helm of the Rainbow Wahine program, and one constant she has had throughout her time is her associate head coach Marc Fournier. The two also coached together for a season when Nagamine was the head coach at Hawai'i Pacific, the season before coming to Manoa. The combo is very yin and yang, as one always compliments the other regarding strengths and weaknesses. Fournier, a tactician, leads the front on the game plan, while Nagamine focuses on overall development and team building.