HONOLULU— Off to the program's best start to a season since 2016 and winners of four of the last five matches, the Hawai'i women's soccer team hits the road for a pair of Big West matches Thursday against UC Santa Barbara at 4 p.m. HT and Sunday at 9 a.m. HT at Cal Poly.
 

HAWAI'I (4-2, 1-0 Big West) @ UC SANTA BARBARA (1-6-3, 0-1 Big West) | @ CAL POLY (3-5, 1-0 Big West)
Date, Time				Thursday, Sept. 22, 4:00 p.m. HT | Sunday, Sept. 25, 9:00 a.m. HT
Location				Santa Barbara, Calif. -- Harder Stadium | San Luis Obispo, Calif. -- Alex G. Spanos Stadium
Television				Thursday (ESPN+) | Sunday (ESPN+)
Live Stream				Thursday | Sunday
Live Stats				Thursday | Sunday
PDF Notes				Hawai'i | UCSB | Cal Poly
Social Media				@HawaiiWSoccer  | #HawaiiWSoccer | @HawaiiWSoccer
Promotions				None
Important Game Day Information				None

 
  
HEAD COACH MICHELE NAGAMINE
Collegiate Record: 91-125-19, 15th year
At Hawai'i: 67-95-18, 12th year

SERIES VS UC SANTA BARBARA | VS CAL POLY
Overall vs. UCSB: 5-9-1
Last meeting: Oct. 3, 2021, at Hawai'i (Tie, 0-0)
Streak: T1

Overall vs. Cal Poly: 1-8-2
Last meeting: Sept. 30, 2021, at Hawai'i (Cal Poly, 2-1)
Streak: L1

ON THE PITCH

• The Rainbow Wahine won their Big West opener for just the second time since joining the league, thanks to a 1-0 victory over UC Davis on Thursday. Kelci Sumida delivered the game-winning goal in the 74th minute off of assists by Krista Peterson and Amber Gilbert, while goalkeeper Lauren Marquez turned in her second shutout of the season.
• The only other time that Hawai'i won its Big West opener came in 2019, when the 'Bows ended up going 4-1-3 in league play and making the conference tournament for the first and only time in program history.
• UH's starting forward line of Krista Peterson, Amber Gilbert and Kelci Sumida have packed a lot of the offensive punch for the 'Bows. All three have started each of the six matches and have combined for six goals, seven assists and 30 shots. One of the three have scored or assisted on six of UH's seven goals.
• Defense has been a strength for the Rainbow Wahine early on, as they are currently tied for the conference lead in goals allowed per game, giving up just 1.0 per contest. UH's six goals given up are the fewest in the Big West this season while the 'Bows have allowed just three goals over the last five matches. Additionally, goalies Lauren Marquez and Sophie Augustin have each won Big West Defensive Player of the Week honors each of the last two weeks.
• The Hawai'i offensive attack has gotten off to a much faster start through six matches compared to a season ago. The 'Bows have scored seven goals through six matches after having four at this point in the season in 2021 while the 59 shot attempts this year out-paces the 40 last year through six contests.

BIG W OPENS CONFERENCE PLAY
For just the second time since joining the Big West, Hawai'i kicked off league play with a win, knocking off UC Davis 1-0 at home on Thursday. Kelci Sumida broke a scoreless tie in the 74th minute with help from Krista Peterson and Amber Gilbert, who dished out assists on the counter-attack effort. The Rainbow Wahine defense locked things down all game to help goalie Lauren Marquez record her second shutout of the season. Sumida's goal was her first of the season and team-leading 12th of her career while Peterson and Gilbert each recorded an assist for the second straight match.

HOT START
The Rainbow Wahine are off to one of the best starts to a season in recent program history. UH four wins in the first six matches are its most since 2016 when it started 5-0-1, while the 'Bows won a conference opener for just the second time since 2012 with the 1-0 win over UC Davis Thursday. Additionally, Hawai'i is 3-0 at home on the year, marking the first time since 1998 that the Rainbow Wahine have won their first three home matches.

RAKING IN THE HONORS
The Rainbow Wahine have taken home several Big West weekly honors over the last two weeks. Goalies Sophie Augustin and Lauren Marquez have been named Big West Defensive Player of the Week in back-to-back weeks, while Amber Gilbert won conference freshman of the week following the Portland State win. Hawai'i is also the only team in The Big West to have three different players win a weekly award.

• Augustin was named league defensive player of the week after making eight saves at Portland State, and Marquez won the award a week later after a shutout of UC Davis in the conference opener.
• Hawai'i is the first team to have two different goalies win Big West Defensive Player of the Week since the league began giving out the honor in 2010.
• Gilbert earned Big West Freshman of the Week honors after scoring a goal and adding an assist in a Sept. 8 win at Portland State.

ON THE ATTACK
Hawai'i's front line of Amber Gilbert, Krista Peterson and Kelci Sumida have led the way offensively through six matches. The trio have combined to score six of the team's seven goals while dishing out seven of the team's 10 assists putting up 19 of the 24 points.

• Peterson is tied for fourth in the conference with eight points and is one of two players in the league with multiple game-winning goals.
• Gilbert is tied for first among Big West freshmen with six points.
• Sumida is tied for second in the conference with three assists and has put up a point in four of the six matches.

LOCKING IT DOWN
Defense has been one of the strong points for Hawai'i through the early stages of the season. The Rainbow Wahine are tied for the conference lead allowing just 1.0 goals per game, while their six goals allowed on the season are the fewest in The Big West. The 'Bows have gotten contributions from a number of different individuals both on the back line and in goal to keep opposing offenses in check.

• Goalies Lauren Marquez and Sophie Augustin have shared playing time in goal, with the two combining for 24 saves and each picking up two wins.
• Eight different players have gotten a start on the back line, with seven players playing at least 200 minutes.

TURNING UP THE PRESSURE
The Rainbow Wahine have shown improvement from a season ago on the offensive end through the first six matches. Hawai'i has scored seven goals through six matches while attempting 59 shots, including 32 on goal. In 2021, the 'Bows did not score a goal until the fifth match of the season and did not score their seventh goal until the 10th match of the year.