HONOLULU — A great season for the Hawaii soccer team also brought postseason honors to the Rainbow Wahine.
University of California’s Michele Nagamine was named Big West Coach of the Year for the second time in his 14-year career, with three members of the Rainbow Wahine (goaltender Kennedy Justin, defenseman Jaycee Jicha, Midfielder Nalani Damasion won the Big West Player of the Year award, the first of its kind. I went to UH players until Saturday.
The award was determined by a vote of 11 coaches from the conference. UH (12-7-1, 8-1-1 BWC) won its first Big West regular season title and will be the No. 1 seed for the Big West semifinals and finals at Waipio Peninsula Soccer Stadium. on Thursday and Sunday.
(Note: See below for photos of UH’s seven All-Big West honorees.)
Justin, Jicha and Damasion were named to the Big West first team, defenseman Alice Davidson and forward Bryn Mitchell were named to the second team, and forward Amber Gilbert and midfielder Kate Sheehan were named to the honorable mention list.
Nagamine, whose team has rapidly improved after a 2-6 start in non-conference play, is coming off a season with double-digit wins for the first time in his 14-year career. UH was picked to finish seventh in the preseason, a conference that has never been seriously threatened as a title contender in more than a dozen years.
“To say I am excited for the players is an understatement,” Nagamine told Spectrum News in a message. “The amount of personal investment made in our spring season was unparalleled!”
“This season is so special to me because of the people. I consider myself very lucky because some people will never get to experience the aloha feeling and connection that I felt with the players and staff.” That’s what I think.
The seven player conference honors from the 2007 WAC championship team matched a program record and marked the only year the university ever made the NCAA Tournament.
That’s what’s at stake this week. The University of California will face No. 5 seed California State University Bakersfield (7-10-4) on Sunday, which won 1-0 on the road against No. 4 seed University of California, Irvine on Sunday. UH defeated CSUB 1-0 at WPSS on September 26th.
Justin, Davidson and Damasion were selected to the BWC All-Freshman Team.
UC Davis’ Sam Tristan was named the Big West Offensive Player of the Year after leading the league in points (24) and second in goals (10).
Damasion, a native of Rocklin, Calif., showed poise and command of the field, rare for a first-year college player. She became the first freshman to win BWC Midfielder of the Year in the award’s 20 years. She has the most wins (seven) by an NCAA Division I freshman since 2015 and is tied with Natasha Kai and Tiana Fujimoto for the program’s all-time wins record.
Damacion was replaced as the Newcomer of the Year by UC Santa Barbara’s Devin Green, who scored six goals this season. Damasion won the Big West Newcomer of the Week award five times.
Freshman Nalani Damasion next to teammate Tatum Porter on Senior Night. (Spectrum News/Brian MacInnis)
Justin, a native of Long Beach, Calif., is UH’s first BWC Goaltender of the Year since Alexis Mata in 2019. With her length and explosiveness, she became the first freshman to win the award in 22 seasons at Big West University. Justin replaced starter Brianna Charpich in the final moments of the first game of the season when Charpich went down with a season-ending injury.
She tied the school record for wins by keeper (11) and set a program record for five consecutive shutouts.
Goaltender Kennedy Justin signed Keiki after the win over UC Riverside. (Spectrum News/Brian MacInnis)
Jicha, a Mililani native and graduate of Mililani High School, has been a mainstay at center back throughout his four-year career. She anchored UH’s bottom line, which averaged 0.60 goals against per conference match. This is the third time she has earned all-conference honors, but the first time on the first team. She played 1,700 minutes out of a possible 1,800.
Center back Jaycee Jicha plays against Long Beach State on Senior Night. (Spectrum News/Brian MacInnis)
Mitchell, a native of Santa Cruz, Calif., transferred from Saint Mary’s University last year and tied for second on the team with four points. She is the only Wahine player to score multiple goals in a game against North Dakota State on September 1st.
Bryn Mitchell signed Keiki after UC beat UC Riverside. (Spectrum News/Brian MacInnis)
Davidson, of Scarpool, Ore., tied for the team lead with four assists. She is one of four players in program history to be named to the Big West All-Freshman team and also named to the first or second team.
Alice Davidson made an immediate impact as a defender, tying for the team lead with four assists. (Spectrum News/Brian MacInnis)
Sheehan, a native of Highlands Ranch, Colo., was one of five BWC players with at least four goals and four assists. She started all 20 games.
Kate Sheehan was a consistent player with four goals and four assists. (Spectrum News/Brian MacInnis)
Mililani’s Gilbert was a first-team player last year. She always attracted attention with her speed and aggressive running. Her only goal was an important one. It was the winner in a 1-0 game against archrival Cal State Fullerton on Oct. 6.
Amber Gilbert was frequently targeted by opposing defenses with her offensive runs. (Spectrum News/Brian MacInnis)
Brian McInnis covers the state’s sports scene for Spectrum News Hawaii. Contact him at brian.mcinnis@charter.com.
