WAIPAHU, O'ahu – Kelci Sumida broke through with the lone goal of the match in the 74th minute to lead the Hawai'i women's soccer team to a 1-0 win over UC Davis in the Big West opener Thursday at the Waipi'o Soccer Complex.
The Rainbow Wahine (4-2, 1-0 Big West) picked up just their second ever win in a Big West opener, improving to 2-8 all-time with the other win coming in 2019. The win was also UH's fourth in a row over the Aggies (3-3-2, 0-1 Big West) dating back to 2018.
After a physical back-and-forth battle over the first 74 minutes, Hawai'i finally ended the scoreless tie with Sumida's goal.
Krista Peterson played a long ball down the left sideline that
Amber Gilbert ran down and crossed to Sumida at the back post, where she put it away for her first goal of the year.
From there, the 'Bows fought off a few late chances by UC Davis to complete the shutout. UH defended a pair of Aggie corner kicks in the final 10 minutes while
Lauren Marquez recorded a save to finish off her second clean sheet of the season.
The two teams went back-and-forth throughout the first half, but neither side was able to break through. The Rainbow Wahine had a goal negated by an offsides in the eighth minute, while also having back-to-back corner kicks in the 36th minute. The Aggies had an open look at goal just before halftime, but Sammie Ruelas' shot attempt was high.
Coming out of haltime, both sides had more chances to break through but couldn't score. The Aggies had a free kick attempt go high from just outside the box in the 55th minute, before UH's
Mia Foster had a shot on goal get saved by UCD keeper Caeley Goldstein in the 61st minute.
Sumida's goal was the 11th of her career, while the score gave her five points on the season after she came in with a team-high three assists. Gilbert and Peterson each recorded an assist for the second straight match while Marquez delivered her fourth career shutout.
The 'Bows have a week off before heading back on the road to play at UC Santa Barbara on Thursday, Sept. 22 at 4 p.m. HT.
