Magical season for Hawai’i comes to an end in Big West Tournament semifinals

WAIPAHU – All pau, for now. 

A historic season for the Hawai’i Rainbow Wahine soccer program came to a close on Thursday night, seeing top-seeded UH fall in the Big West Conference semifinals to fifth-seeded Cal State Bakersfield, 3-0. The Roadrunners (8-10-4, 4-4-3 Big West) cashed in on a penalty kick opportunity in the 26th minute of the first half to take the lead before cementing their place in the Big West Championship on Sunday with a pair of insurance goals in the final 45 minutes. 

The loss is just the second of the year against Big West teams for Hawai’i, who entered Thursday on a 7-game home win streak and as the top seed in the tournament after going 8-1-1 throughout the league slate and winning the program’s first regular season Big West title since joining the conference in 2012. It was a season for the record books in many ways for the Rainbow Wahine, leading to UH taking home four of the six major conference awards and a program record-tying seven different players on all-conference teams.  

With an elite defense led by the Big West Goalkeeper of the Year and Defender of the Year in redshirt freshman Kennedy Justin and senior Jacey Jicha, Hawai’i (12-8-1, 8-1-1 Big West) put the straitjacket on opponents through the conference schedule as Big West foes mustered six total goals in 10 games. 

That winning formula was tossed out the window on Thursday evening as the Rainbow Wahine saw themselves fall behind midway through the first half of a damp, slippery semifinal. Hawai’i dominated possession for the opening 15 minutes of action, gliding down the field on the Roadrunners’ side constantly but unable to put true pressure on the net. 

With a couple counterattacks, the CSUB offense began to find rhythm after Jicha was awarded a yellow card in the 21st minute after committing a foul just outside of the 18-yard box. The physical play of Hawai’i came back to bite the Rainbow Wahine five minutes later as Cal State Bakersfield was granted a penalty kick after Izzy Ayala was whistled for an infraction inside the 18 that caused CSUB’s Catalina Roggerone to go flailing to the ground. 

Roadrunners defender Anela Nigito calmly pocketed the PK into the top left side of the goal, just evading the outstretched arms of UH’s Justin to give fifth-seeded Cal State Bakersfield a 1-0 advantage in the 26th minute. The Rainbow Wahine got a pair of quality chances at the CSUB net just before the half but came up empty, heading into the break trailing by a goal. 

Hawai’i goalkeeper Kennedy Justin dives just short of CSUB penalty kick in the first half of the Big West semifinal. | Photo Credit: Ku’ulei Agbayani, HSRN

Needing to do work in the second half was no stranger to Hawai’i this season, seeing nine of the team’s 12 wins come from a game-winning goal being scored after the midway break. Part of that formula was the suffocating defense UH played, holding teams scoreless after halftime in 11 of the 12 wins. 

Once again, CSUB threw the math off for Hawai’i by adding an insurance goal in the 63rd minute when Cynthia Ramirez got behind the Rainbow Wahine defense and chipped a shot over Justin and into the back of the net to give the Roadrunners a 2-0 lead. They would all but close the door on the Hawai’i season four minutes later as Megan Ormson finished off a beautiful corner kick by Paige Rodriguez to give CSUB a three-goal lead. 

Hawai’i let 11 shots rip over the final 23 minutes, trying hard but failing to penetrate the Cal State Bakersfield defensive wall scaling the mouth of the net. The Rainbow Wahine outshot CSUB, 21-8, though only seven of those UH shots were on frame versus six of the eight for the Roadrunners. 

CSUB goalkeeper Kamy Anaya tallied five saves in the upset victory for the Roadrunners, turning away multiple close calls in the second half to shut out Hawai’i for the first time in a month. The fifth-seeded Roadrunners advance to the first Big West Championship game for any CSUB program in school history on Sunday, taking on third-seeded UC Santa Barbara. 

All-conference honorable mention Cate Sheahan led Hawai’i with four shots while Mia Foster added another three. Big West Midfielder of the Year and all-Freshman Team member Nalani Damacion had a pair of shots for Hawai’i, one on frame, as the standout first-year midfielder was held without a point in both meetings with CSUB. 

Damacion is one of three all-Freshman Team selections for the Rainbow Wahine that help illustrate the bright future ahead after UH’s historically successful season. While there are many eyes on what that future can hold, Hawai’i head coach Michele Nagamine urged many to always remember where the foundation was built. 

“I asked [the team] to remember how far we have come and the incredible job that they’ve done, Nagamine said following the semifinal loss. “They have overcome so many odds and adversity … we broke record after record and created a lot of really good Her-storic moments so I’m proud.” 

A large part of the team’s success was built on genuine love for each other, making it easier as some players sacrificed bigger roles for the sake of the team. One example was UH senior Amber Gilbert, who scored seven goals and was selected to the all-Big West first team in 2023 and received only an all-conference honorable mention as she happily took the attention of multiple defenders at a time to open opportunities for others to score in 2024. 

“Any time you can get a group together like this and have the kind of love and aloha that they have for each other, that’s what I’m going to remember most,” Nagamine gushed about her historic team. “The people and how well they got along … the relationships that we have with our players, you can’t put a price tag on that as a coach.” 

The Rainbow Wahine send off a handful of seniors with a championship in hand and memories forever. As for the rest of the Hawai’i soccer program? 

Maybe pau for now, but certainly not pau going forward.