FRESNO, Calif. – The University of Hawai'i women's soccer team saw its season come to an end with a 2-1 loss to New Mexico State Thursday in the first round of the Western Athletic Conference Tournament. The third-seeded Rainbow Wahine scored the first goal of the match, however the No. 6 Aggies rallied back with scores in each half to claim the win.
 
New Mexico State (10-7-3) advanced to Friday's semifinals where they will face host and No 2 seed Fresno State. UH, meanwhile, concluded its season with a 5-12-1 record following its second loss to the Aggies in less than a week. The Aggies also defeated UH, 1-0, in a highly-physical regular-season match last Friday in Las Cruces.
 
UH lost the match despite out-shooting the Aggies, 14-5. New Mexico State garnered just two shots on goal, but both ended in the back of the net. 
 
UH pressed the action early and it paid off in the 19^th minute when Krystal Pascua took a Skye Shimabukuro feed and nailed a shot from 25 yards out. The UH defense was hanging tough, not allowing a single shot by the Aggies for most of the first half. However, NMSU got on the board less than three minutes before the break when Courtney Irwin scored on the Aggies first shot of the match.
 
Bree Luhrsen put New Mexico State ahead 2-1 with a goal in the 63^rd minute off a rebounded shot attempt. That score would prove to be the game-winner as the Rainbow Wahine were unable to find an answer in the final 27 minutes of action.
 
It was a disappointing end for the Rainbow Wahine who enjoyed a resurgence under first-year head coach Michele Nagamine. UH was predicted to finish second-to-last in the WAC and started the season with losses in eight of its first nine matches. However, UH picked it up in league play, upsetting top teams Utah State and Fresno State, while finishing the regular season in a tie for third place with a 4-2-1 mark. 
 
The match was UH's last in the Western Athletic Conference as the team will join the Big West in 2012.
 
 

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