The University of Hawai’i women’s soccer team will make the program’s second appearance in the Big West Championship with a first-round match against Cal Poly on Sunday at Mustang Memorial Field in San Luis Obispo, Calif. Kickoff is set for 2 p.m. Pacific Time (11 a.m. Hawaii Time).
The Rainbow Wahine earned a spot in the Big West Championship bracket for the first time since 2019 and enters the tournament as the sixth seed with 13 points in the regular-season standings. Cal Poly is the third seed with 19 points in the regular season. The winner of Sunday’s match advances to the semifinals to face second-seeded UC Davis on Nov. 2 at Titan Stadium in Fullerton, Calif. The championship match is set for Nov. 5. The tournament champion earns the Big West’s automatic berth in the NCAA Division I Women’s Soccer Championship.
| HAWAI’I RAINBOW WAHINE (5-7-3, 4-5-1 BIG WEST) AT CAL POLY (8-7-3, 6-3-1 BIG WEST) | ||||
| Date / Time | Sunday, Oct. 29, 2 p.m. PT / 11 a.m. HT | |||
| Location | San Luis Obispo, Calif. — Mustang Memorial Field | |||
| Live Stream | ESPN+ | |||
| Radio | None | |||
| Live Stats | bigwest.org | |||
| PDF Notes | Hawai’i | Cal Poly | |||
| Social Media | @HawaiiWSoccer  | #HawaiiWSoccer | @HawaiiWSoccer  |
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HEAD COACH MICHELE NAGAMINE
At Hawai’i: 74-106-24, 13th season
Collegiate Record: 98-136-25 (16th year)
SERIES VS. CAL POLY
Overall: Cal Poly leads 10-1-3
Last meeting: Oct. 22, 2023 (Cal Poly won 2-1)
Streak: L1
2023 BIG WEST WOMEN’S SOCCER CHAMPIONSHIP SCHEDULE
Sunday, Oct. 29
No. 6 Hawaii at No. 3 Cal Poly, 2 p.m. PT / 11 a.m. HT
No. 5 UC Irvine at No. 4 Long Beach State, 6 p.m. PT / 3 p.m. HT
Thursday, Nov. 2
At Titan Stadium, Fullerton, Calif.
Hawaii-Cal Poly winner vs. No. 2 UC Davis, 4:30 p.m. PT / 1:30 p.m. HT
UC Irvine-LBSU winner vs. No. 1 Cal State Fullerton, 7:30 p.m PT / 4:30 p.m. HT
Sunday, Nov. 5
Championship match, 1 p.m. / 11 a.m HT
ON THE PITCH
• UH and Cal Poly will meet for the second straight Sunday, this time in San Luis Obispo, Calif. The ‘Bows and Mustangs faced off on Oct. 22 in UH’s home finale at Waipi’o Peninsula Soccer Stadium. Cal Poly scored two goals in the 85th minute to rally to a 2-1 win.
• Cal Poly leads the all-time series with UH 10-1-3. UH posted its lone win against Cal Poly on Oct. 19, 2018 with a 4-0 win on the road. The teams played to a 2-2 draw in UH’s visit to Cal Poly last season. The Mustangs scored the equalizing goal on a free kick with 16 seconds left in the match.
• UH closed the regular season with a 4-2 loss at Long Beach State on Oct. 26. The Beach converted two penalty kicks on its way to taking a 3-0 lead into halftime. UH’s Amber Gilbert scored her team-high seventh goal of the season in the 63rd minute and Mia Foster put away a penalty kick in the 66th minute for her fifth goal. Foster is 4-for-4 on PKs this season.
• UH forward Amber Gilbert continues to lead UH with seven goals this season and has 11 for her career. She also leads the team with 14 points this season. Gilbert now has 11 goals in 30 career matches for the Rainbow Wahine. She’s alone in third in the Big West in goals this season and her average of .467 per match is second in the conference. Her average of .93 points per match (14 total) ranks fifth. She has started all 30 matches in her UH career, the longest active streak on the team.
• Sophomore forward Cate Sheahan leads the team with five assists and boosted her season point total to 11 with five over the last three matches. She was on the finishing end of both of UH’s goals in the team’s final homestand. She came off the bench to score her second goal of the season and posted her first game-winner in UH’s 1-0 victory over UC Santa Barbara. She added another goal early in the second half against Cal Poly and was credited with an assist on UH’s first goal against Long Beach State on Thursday. Her five assists is the most in a season since Sonest Furtado had seven in 2017.
• Hawai’i last qualified for the conference tournament in 2019, when the field was limited to the top four teams in the regular-season standings. The ‘Bows closed that season with a 3-0 loss to host Cal State Fullerton in the semifinals. UH fifth-year seniors Eliza Ammendolia and Kelci Sumida are the only members of the current roster who played in the 2019 Big West Championship. The tournament field was expanded to six teams last year.
• Hawai’i and Cal Poly enter Sunday’s rematch with 26 goals each this season. Kate Reedy leads the Mustangs with five goals and is tied for second on the team with three assists. Jessie Halladay has four goals and a team-high four assists.
#HawaiiWSoccer
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