Stormy matchup: Kansas State defeats UH soccer 3-1 as Hurricane Lala nears

HONOLULU (HawaiiNewsNow) – The University of Hawaii Rainbow Wahine soccer team fell to Kansas State 3-1 on Saturday, wrapping up their final match of the Outrigger Soccer Kickoff.

Read more LIVE: Hurricane Lala’s eyewall brushes Hawaii Island, steady weakening expected tonight

Despite the approaching severe weather from Hurricane Lala, the game went on as scheduled at the Lower Campus Field in Manoa.

The Rainbow Wahine came out firing, with forward Anuhea Aluli scoring her first goal of the season to put Hawaii ahead early.

“Anuhea is definitely one of our best finishers. She’s so explosive,” head coach Michele Nagamine said. “She works her butt off.”

Kansas State tied the score in the 27th minute, and the Wildcats took the lead in the second half to secure the victory.

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“I’m proud of us. That’s a really good team,” Nagamine said of the Wildcats. “It was just a really challenging day for the athletes to play through, but I’m grateful that we got out of there, you know, with the game played so that our teams that came from the mainland could actually get two games in this weekend.”

Strong winds from the storm forced officials to cancel the television broadcast of the matchup on KFVE for the safety of the production crew. Despite the weather, a sizable crowd of fans made their way to the field.

“For the people who came, love you, thank you to brave that kind of weather and the storm. It just shows how dedicated our fan base is and we just, we love them,” Nagamine said. “It just means the world to us and the players and staff — really, really appreciate it.”

The Rainbow Wahine return to action Thursday, hosting Western Michigan. That game is scheduled to broadcast on KFVE, with coverage beginning at 3:30 p.m.

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