FULLERTON, Calif. — The University of Hawai’i women’s soccer team scored in the final seconds of the first half and surrendered a goal late in the second in a 1-1 draw with Cal State Fullerton in a Big West match on Thursday at Titan Stadium in Fullerton, Calif.
The Rainbow Wahine (2-2-3, 1-0-1 Big West) picked up a point in the conference standings in earning a result against the Titans for just the second time in the last 13 meetings. Cal State Fullerton (2-4-5, 0-1-1) had won 11 of the previous 12 matchups in the series with UH with a tie in 2019.
UH sophomore defender Zoe Park scored the first goal of her Rainbow Wahine career with eight seconds left in the first half off a corner kick from Nohara Takayama and an assist from Penny Noland to give the Rainbow Wahine a 1-0 lead at halftime.
The UH defense turned away Cal State Fullerton threats early in the second half, but after several close calls the host Titans scored the equalizer in the 86th minute off a free kick with Jenae Perez netting her first goal of the season.
Cal State Fullerton finished the match with 30 shots, the most taken by a UH opponent since UC Irvine fired 34 on Oct. 28, 2012. The Titans took 14 corner kicks to UH’s five and put seven shots on goal.
UH took 14 shots, putting three on goal, with junior midfielder Mia Foster taking a team-high six. UH goalkeeper Sophie Augustin finished with four saves.
The Titans controlled possession for much of the first half but came up empty on their 11 shots before the break. UH defender Eve Bleam headed away a shot near the post off a Cal State Fullerton corner kick in the 12th minute as the UH defense held off the Titans heading toward halftime.
UH had put one shot on goal in the half when Takayama hustled to take a corner kick with time running down before the break. Noland got her head on the ball which deflected to Park on the left side, who then fired a low shot into the right side of the net to give the Wahine a 1-0 lead at the 44:52 mark of the match.
The play marked career firsts for all three UH players involved with Park scoring her first goal and Takayama and Noland credited with their first assists.
Augustin turned away a Cal State Fullerton threat in the opening moments of the second half and defender Jacey Jicha later cleared a shot in front of the net to keep UH ahead. Another of Fullerton’s shots hit off the crossbar as the Wahine looked to hang on in the final five minutes, but the Titans broke through when Perez scored off the free kick at the 85:38 mark.
The Rainbow Wahine conclude their first conference road trip of the season on Sunday when they face UC Riverside (1-5-4, 1-0-0) at UCR Soccer Stadium in Riverside, Calif. The match is set for 4 p.m. Hawai’i time and will be streamed on ESPN+.
#HawaiiWSoccer
Leave A Comment