WAIPAHU, Hawai'i – UC San Diego scored goal in each half but host Hawai'i put together a strong second half to down the visiting Tritons, 4-2, Thursday night at Waipio Peninsula Soccer Stadium. The win propels the Rainbow Wahine (3-3-3, 2-1-1 Big West) into first place in The Big West standings with seven points during conference play. The Tritons (1-6-3, 0-1-1) dropped their second straight.
HOW IT HAPPENED
The first few minutes of the match consisted of the two teams playing through the midfield with not much in the way of scoring chances. About a third of the way through the half, UC San Diego began to assert itself and create opportunities. The Tritons had a terrific scoring chance in the 25th minute as
Alexis Nguyen drew a foul just outside the 18 yard box.
Talisa Lin took the kick for UC San Diego, bending in a beautiful ball but UH goalkeeper Sophie Augustin made a nice save lunging to her left.
The Tritons broke the scoreless deadlock in the 30th minute.
Audrey Reed played a ball in that deflected off the right shoulder of
Raquel Kalpakoff and into the back of the net for her team-leading fourth goal of the season.
Hawai'i held a slim 5-3 advantage in first half saves with Triton goalkeeper
Keara Fitzgerald making a pair of saves.
The Rainbow Wahine got the equalizer in the 52nd minute when Eliza Ammendolia ripped a shot from 30 yards out that just snuck under the crossbar to tie the match. The home team went ahead in the 70th minute on an Amber Gilbert goal, her fifth of the season. Gilbert added another in the 76th minute and Nicole Ando scored in the 80th to secure the win for Hawai'i.
UC San Diego drew a bit closer in the 87th minute when
Kennedy Carter scored with the left foot – her first goal of the season.
Allie Luo was credited with an assist on the Carter goal, the fifth helper of her career.
TRITON TIDBITS
- Carter's goal was the ninth of her career. She is UC San Diego's all-time leading goal scorer in the program's Division I history.
- Fitzgerald entered the match leading The Big West with 6.00 saves per game. She made three saves on Thursday.
- Reed's assist was her first as a Triton.
- The Tritons are now 3-1 all-time against Hawai'i.
- UC San Diego wore its white kits Thursday night.
- Temperature was 78 degrees at game time under partly cloudy skies.
QUOTABLE
"I was pleased with our energy and intensity through the first half and into the second," said UC San Diego head coach
Kristin Jones '04. "Hawai'i did a good job of creating opportunities after halftime and put themselves in a good position to take advantage of those chances – which clearly they did. We need to learn to stop the bleeding when we do make a mistake so that things don't snowball on us."
UP NEXT
Big West play continues for UC San Diego on Sunday when the Tritons visit UC Davis. The match kicks off at 1 p.m. and can be seen on ESPN+ with live stats on UCSDTritons.com.
About UC San Diego Athletics
After two decades as one of the most successful programs in NCAA Division II, the UC San Diego intercollegiate athletics program began a new era in 2020 as a member of The Big West in NCAA Division I. The 23-sport Tritons earned 30 team and nearly 150 individual national championships during its time in Divisions II and III and helped guide 1,400 scholar-athletes to All-America honors. A total of 84 Tritons have earned Academic All-America honors, while 38 have earned prestigious NCAA Post Graduate Scholarships. UC San Diego scholar-athletes exemplify the academic ideals of one of the world's preeminent institutions, graduating at an average rate of 91 percent, one of the highest rates among institutions at all divisions.
