IRVINE, Calif. --- The 'Eaters scratched and clawed down to the very last possession, but could not get anything to fall Thursday night in Anteater Stadium falling, 1-0, to the Rainbow Wahine.
Hawai'i (7-10-0, 2-5-0) got all the match's scoring in the 35th minute. Ashley Haruki drove towards the box and bounded a pass forward that glanced off an Anteater and right onto Hayden Gibson on the left of the box who slid home the goal past a diving Jenn Randazzo to make it 1-0, Hawai'i.
UC Irvine (6-9-3, 2-4-1) dominated time of possession in the first half, but trailed on the scoreboard and in the shot department, 5-3.
The 'Eaters came out with a fire in the second half which provided multiple scoring opportunities.
Laura McGrail ran onto a ball on the left side of the box meeting it on a shot attempt at the same time as a Rainbow Wahine defender. He shot bolted on goal and smacked the left post. The rebound fell to an oncoming Cami Privett, but the ball bounded over her foot to deny the 'Eaters from a score.
Kiana Palacios put up a chance shortly thereafter from long distance, but Hawai'I keeper Monk Berger got up to tip it off the crossbar and just high.
Later, a cross from Clarissa Robles found a running Noel Baham whose header veered just high.
The final blow came in the final five minutes as a lead punt hit Alex Karlowitsch. She flipped it over the oncoming Berger, and was able to nudge it toward goal, but the Rainbow Wahine defense shoved it aside once again to thwart UCI's late opportunity and secure the 1-0 win.
Berger teamed up with Erica Young, who started the opening half, to stop three Anteater advances on the night in addition to the team save on Karlowitsch's try.
Jenn Randazzo stopped the one other shot she faced as she was one of nine Anteaters playing in their final match at Anteater Stadium.
One of those seniors, McGrail, led all players with five shots and two on target. Frontino also had a shot in her final home match. Others like Privett, Jenna Pellegrino, and Alana Sooy put in full nineties to punctuate their careers.
Others that were honored before the match were juniors Jasmine Nickelberry, Michelle Bagheri, and Victoria Russo.
The loss knocked UC Irvine from a Big West Tournament berth, but can still finish as high as fifth in the conference with a win in its regular season finale. That match will come on Sunday, Nov. 2, at 2:00 p.m. at UC Davis.
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