WAIPAHU, O'ahu – The Hawai'i women's soccer team played Eastern Washington to a 1-1 draw Thursday night at Waipi'o Soccer Stadium in UH's final match before opening Big West play.
The Rainbow Wahine will now turn their attention to conference play, where they will look to defend their Big West regular season title from a year ago beginning next Thursday in Long Beach.
After a relatively uneventful first half, the Rainbow Wahine got the scoring started in the 49
th minute courtesy of
Amber Gilbert. The senior dribbled through the EWU defense and fired from the top of the box, putting it away in the top right half of the goal to put UH in front 1-0.
The lead would be short-lived, however, as Delani Walker equalized for the Eagles just over a minute later at the 49:45 mark.
The Rainbow Wahine had chances to reclaim the lead down the stretch, with Gilbert creating a pair of shot opportunities in the final 15 minutes and
Cate Sheahan firing off one of her team-high six shots in the final minutes.
Brianna Chirpich got the start in goal for Hawai'i and became the first UH keeper to play all 90 minutes, recording a pair of saves. Sheahan and Gilbert combined for 10 of UH's 15 shots, with Sheahan's six attempts running her conference-leading total to 36.
The Rainbow Wahine have a week off before hitting the road to open Big West play Thursday at Long Beach State. Kickoff is schedule for 4 p.m. HT (ESPN+).
