HONOLULU — The University of Hawai’i women’s soccer team officially opens the 2023 season with the OUTRIGGER Soccer Kickoff set for Thursday and Sunday at Waipi’o Peninsula Soccer Stadium.
The Rainbow Wahine take on defending Western Athletic Conference regular-season champion Utah Valley in the second match of Thursday’s doubleheader at WPSS. Kickoff is scheduled for 7 p.m. following the tournament opener between Gonzaga and Houston Christian.
Hawai’i closes the tournament against Gonzaga at 4 p.m. on Sunday. The Bulldogs went 10-3-5 overall and 5-1-3 in the West Coast Conference last season.
The Rainbow Wahine played Houston Christian to a scoreless draw on Sunday at WPSS in their lone exhibition prior to the season’s opening weekend.
| OUTRIGGER SOCCER KICKOFF (HAWAI’I, 0-0; GONZAGA, 0-0; HOUSTON CHRISTIAN, 0-0; UTAH VALLEY, 0-0) | ||||
| Schedule | Thursday, Aug. 17 – Houston Christian vs. Gonzaga, 4:30 p.m. Thursday, Aug. 17 – Hawai’i vs. Utah Valley, 7 p.m. Sunday, Aug. 20 – Utah Valley vs. Houston Christian, 1:30 p.m. Sunday, Aug. 20 – Hawai’i vs. Gonzaga, 4 p.m. |
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| Location | Waipahu, O’ahu — Waipi’o Peninsula Soccer Stadium | |||
| Television / Live Stream | None | |||
| Radio | Thursday: Hawaii vs. Utah Valley on ESPN Honolulu (1420-AM / 92.7-FM) | |||
| Live Stats | Thursday: Houston Christian vs. Gonzaga | Hawai’i vs. Utah Valley Sunday: Utah Valley vs. Houston Christian | Hawai’i vs. Gonzaga |
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| PDF Notes | Hawai’i | Gonzaga | Houston Christian | Utah Valley | |||
| Social Media | @HawaiiWSoccer  | #HawaiiWSoccer | @HawaiiWSoccer  |
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| Promotions | Coming soon | |||
| Admission | FREE | |||
| Gameday Rosters | Gameday Rosters | |||
HEAD COACH MICHELE NAGAMINE
At Hawai’i: 69-99-21, 13th season
Collegiate Record: 93-122-22 (16th year)
SERIES VS. UTAH VALLEY | VS. GONZAGA
Overall vs. Utah Valley: UH leads 4-0
Last meeting: Aug. 18, 2017 (UH won, 2-1)
Streak: W4
Overall vs. Gonzaga: UH leads, 3-2
Last meeting: Sept. 2, 2021 (GU won, 5-0)
Streak: L2
ON THE PITCH
WELCOME BACK
The Rainbow Wahine will return a bulk of their production from a season ago in 2023. UH’s returnees combined to score 14 of the team’s 15 goals in 2022 while also accounting for 41 of the 45 points and 13 of the 15 assists. Additionally, Hawai’i returns 123 of its 165 starts from last season while the returnees fired off 163 of the 176 total shots. A big key to the Rainbow Wahine returning so much experience in 2023 were the decisions by ELIZA AMMENDOLIA and KELCI SUMIDA to take advantage of their extra year of eligibility and return for their fifth seasons.
BUILDING UP
Hawai’i is coming off of a 2022 season in which it came up just short of reaching the Big West Championship. The Rainbow Wahine showed great improvement from the 2021 season, finishing 6-6-3 overall and 3-4-3 in conference play to finish seventh. UH was in position to make a push for the postseason all year and had a chance to win and get in to the Big West Championship in the final match of the year, but fell to eventual NCAA Sweet Sixteen team UC Irvine.
#HawaiiWSoccer
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