SAN LUIS OBISPO, Calif. – The Hawai'i women's soccer team played Cal Poly to a 2-2 draw on the road Sunday, scoring a pair of goals early in the opening minutes of the match before the Mustangs equalized with a score in the final minute of play.
The Rainbow Wahine (4-2-2, 1-0-2 Big West) still secured a point, giving them two points on the road trip and five on the season in conference play. Hawai'i came into play Sunday tied atop the conference standings with Long Beach State.
After UH fought off countless chances by the Mustangs (4-5-1, 1-0-1 Big West) throughout the match, including 13 corner kicks and 18 shot attempts, Cal Poly evened things up at two apiece with just 11 seconds remaining as Monserrat Marquez scored on a free kick from right outside the box.
UH got off to a roaring start, striking twice in the first seven minutes of the match to build a 2-0 lead.
Krista Peterson put the 'Bows on the board in the fifth minute, firing a shot off from long distance that got through the hands of Cal Poly goalkeeper Lindsay Kellogg and rolled across the goal line.
Two minutes later,
Amber Gilbert added to the lead with her third goal of the season. The redshirt freshman chased down a long ball from
Eliza Ammendolia, beating her defender and finishing past Kellogg to double the lead at the 6:43 mark.
The Rainbow Wahine also fought off numerous scoring opportunities by Cal Poly to preserve the first-half shutout.
Sophie Augustin recorded three saves in the first 45 minutes while
Jacey Jicha made an incredible sliding save on the goal line in the 34th minute after Augustin vacated the net to keep the Mustangs off the board.
Cal Poly got on the board less than a minute into the second half, cutting the UH lead to 2-1 in the 46th minute. Peja Balanon found the back of the net by scoring off of a ball that was initially saved by Augustin.
Peterson's goal was her team-leading fourth of the season while giving her 10 points for the year, also the most on the team. Gilbert scored for the third time this year to give her eight points on her redshirt freshman season, while Ammendolia recorded her first assist of the year.
The Rainbow Wahine return home to host Long Beach State on Sunday at 4 p.m. at the Waipi'o Peninsula Soccer Complex.
