HONOLULU – The Hawai'i women's soccer team saw its six-match winning streak come to an end on Wednesday, falling 2-1 to UNLV on a wet and rainy day at the UH Lower Campus Field.
Despite the loss, Hawai'i (9-5-1, 6-2 MW) remains firmly in the hunt for the Mountain West regular-season title, sitting tied for second place in the conference standings and just one point behind leader Colorado College.
The 'Bows jumped out to an early lead in the eighth minute after drawing a foul inside the box. Midfielder
Nalani Damacion stepped up to the spot and calmly converted the penalty kick at the 7:50 mark, driving home her fourth goal of the season to put Hawai'i ahead 1-0. The Rebels (5-9-3, 3-5-1 MW) answered in the 35th minute when Madison Encinas found the net directly from the corner at 34:24, sending the teams into the locker room tied 1-1 at the intermission.
UNLV took the lead at the 58:28 mark of the second period when Tatum Jackson finished a delivery from Kamri Yergensen to make it 2-1. Trailing for the first time in weeks, the Rainbow Wahine went on the attack looking for the equalizer. Hawai'i out-shot the Rebels 13-1 in the final 45 minutes and forcing UNLV goalkeeper Riley Hodson into six total saves on the night.
The Rainbow Wahine ended the match with an 18-6 advantage in the shot count, led by four each from
Anuhea Aluli and
Tatum Porter, but were unable to even things up.
UH will look to bounce back when they host New Mexico on Senior Day at 2:30 p.m. at the Lower Campus Field. Following the match, nine Rainbow Wahine will be honored for their contributions to Hawai'i soccer throughout their careers.
