Wahine soccer looking to collect more hardware as they host Big West tournament 

Nagamine, who claimed Big West Coach of the Year honors for the second time in her career, made sure to credit her assistants Kaula Rowe, Daniel Saucedo, Num Tindle, Noe Kong Johnson when she spoke to the media on Tuesday.

“In my opinion, it should be the staff of the year, so that’s what I’ve been calling it because I am just a very, very small part of everything,” she said. “My staff has just been exemplary in every single thing that they’ve done.”

The Rainbow Wahine went 12-7-1 overall and 8-1-1 in conference play to earn their first Big West regular season title since joining the league in 2012. It was their first 10-win season since 2007 and the 25 points in the standings were the most by a conference team since 2016.

They also set a school record with a nine-match unbeaten streak while setting a single-season school record with a seven-match win streak.

The incredible run by Hawai’i in 2024 has been fueled by a blend of veteran players and newcomers. Senior Jacey Jicha was the first Hawai’i player to earn Defensive Player of the Year honors while freshmen Nalani Damacion and Kennedy Justin were named the conference’s Midfielder and Goalkeeper of the Year respectively.

Damacion, who was the first player in team history to earn her award in the Big West, reflected on the season ahead of the semifinals.

“I stepped into the team wanting to make the biggest impact that I can and obviously we’re not done yet, so then I’m not done yet,” said Damacion. “I knew coming in here that I wanted to set these goals for myself, obviously that wasn’t specifically a goal that I wanted to set but now it just raises my standards higher and everyone else around me. It just pumped all of us up.”

Nalani Damacion tracks a player in a win against Long Beach on Oct. 31. | Michael Lasquero, HSRN

The Rainbow Wahine last played Cal State Bakersfield at home on Sept. 26, when a Fabiola Zamora penalty kick lifted them to a 1-0 win. The Roadrunners (7-10-4, 4-3-3) are coming off an upset first-round win over reigning champion UC Irvine on Sunday.

Nagamine acknowledges that Cal State Bakersfield is “scary opponent” coming in.

“The win against Irvine on Sunday was the biggest win in their program history, that fact has not escape us, we know that this is a motivated team who’s coming in,” said Nagamine.

“I think that first match that we had against Bakersfield was a very big eye-opener for our team. I think the fact that they are very blue-collar, they work, they are one of the most physical teams in the Big West Conference.”

Stellar sendoff for the senior class

When Hawai’i takes the pitch on Thursday, it will be one week since they celebrated senior night with a 1-0 win over Long Beach State. The Rainbow Wahine celebrated seven seniors with their seventh straight home victory.

“I think it was a little bit of the icing on the cake for us,” assistant coach Kaula Rowe said following the win. “I’m really glad we could give the team and also the seniors too a win at Waipi’o because now after this it’s win or your done. It was really nice to have already qualified and already clinched and already host the tournament. You could tell we really got to enjoy the moment and they played like it too.”

Four players that graduated from a Hawai’i high school enjoyed their senior walk. Jicha was joined by fellow Mililani Trojans Amber Gilbert and Nicole Ando and Kamehameha-Kapalama graduate Carley Park.

“I think anytime you can get local girls to stay home, it’s a good, good day,” Rowe said of the four local girls that are seniors. “To be able to celebrate them in this fashion, I’m just so happy and so excited for them. They mean a lot to this program.”

There were also three “super” seniors that were honored last year, but chose to return with another year of eligibility, in Zamora, Brynn Mitchell and Mia Foster.

“When you put the whole package together and you add those three to it, it’s something special,” said Rowe. “I think those three deciding to come back for one year, this is what they came back for. They played like it, they were determined and all of them were captains that came back. It’s not by design that it happened. They really had a hand in this, helping the team and helping navigate, all of them together with all seven it was really special.”

The emotions of the senior night festivities for seniors like Park and Ando because they are class of 2021 high school graduates. Because of COVID-19 restrictions, they did not have a senior season.

Carley Park hugs assistant coach Kaula Rowe. | Michael Lasquero, HSRN

“Oh my gosh, I’ve been emotional all week honestly,” said Park, who has battled through injuries in her career.

“I’ve been waiting for this my whole life. I didn’t get a senior night in my high school career so I’ve been pretty much building up to this moment and it just means so much to do it in front of my family here at home with my friends.”

Ando said that the evening was everything that she could have imagined.

Nicole Ando receives lei from her teammates. | Michael Lasquero, HSRN

“It’s a great moment that I’ll cherish forever,” she said. “I love having my supporters here, all my family and friends. I’m just so happy.”

Gilbert, who will actually come back for another season per the Spectrum Sports broadcast of the game, was happy to celebrate the moment with her former teammates in high school.

“I’m super glad that I decided to do it this year with (Jacey and Nicole), especially because I played every single year at Mililani with them and even in club against them. I think it’s just amazing that we get to have this full circle moment.”