HONOLULU — A huge season for the Hawaii soccer team produced a proportional amount of postseason honors for the Rainbow Wahine.
UH’s Michele Nagamine was named Big West Coach of the Year for the second time in her 14-year career and three Rainbow Wahine — goalkeeper Kennedy Justin, defender Jacey Jicha and midfielder Nalani Damacion — received Big West positional player of the year awards that had never gone to a UH player until Saturday.
Awards were voted on by the conference’s 11 coaches. UH (12-7-1, 8-1-1 BWC) won the Big West regular-season title for the first time and is the No. 1 seed in the Big West semifinals and final that it will host at Waipio Peninsula Soccer Stadium on Thursday and Sunday.
What You Need To Know
- The Hawaii soccer team received extensive honors from Big West coaches in the conference’s postseason awards announced Saturday
- Michele Nagamine was named Big West Coach of the Year for the second time, while goalkeeper Kennedy Justin, defender Jacey Jicha and midfielder Nalani Damacion became the first UH players to win Big West positional awards
- Seven total player honorees matched a program high for conference honors with the WAC championship team of 2007
- UH awaits the winner of Sunday’s match between UC Irvine and Cal State Bakersfield for Thursday’s Big West semifinals at Waipio Peninsula Soccer Stadium
[Note: See below for photos of UH’s seven All-Big West honorees.]
Justin, Jicha and Damacion were named to the Big West first team, defender Alice Davidson and forward Brynn Mitchell to the second team and forward Amber Gilbert and midfielder Cate Sheahan to the honorable mention list.
Nagamine, whose team surged after a 2-6 start in nonconference play, has the first season of double-digit wins in her 14-year career. UH was picked to finish seventh in the preseason and had never seriously threatened as a title contender in a dozen years in the conference.
“To say that I am thrilled for my players is an understatement,” Nagamine told Spectrum News in a message. “The amount of personal investment that was made in our spring season was unsurpassed!”
“This season is so special to me because of the people. I consider myself very lucky because some people coach their whole lives and never get to experience the kind of aloha and connection that I felt with my players and staff.”
Seven player conference honors tied a program high from the WAC championship team of 2007, the only year to date that UH has made the NCAA Tournament.
That’s what’s on the line this week. UH awaits the winner of Sunday’s first-round game between fourth-seeded UC Irvine and fifth-seeded Cal State Bakersfield.
Justin, Davidson and Damacion were named to the BWC All-Freshman team.
UC Davis’ Sam Tristan, who led the league in points (24) and was second in goals (10), was named Big West Offensive Player of the Year.
Damacion, of Rocklin, Calif., showed uncommon poise and command of the field for a first-year collegiate player. She was the first freshman to win BWC Midfielder of the Year in the award’s 20 years. She posted the most game-winners (seven) for a freshman in NCAA Division I since 2015 and tied the overall program record in game-winners with Natasha Kai and Tiana Fujimoto.
Damacion was passed over for Freshman of the Year in favor of UC Santa Barbara’s Devin Green, who scored six goals on the season. Damacion was Big West Freshman of the Week five times.
Freshman Nalani Damacion, next to teammate Tatum Porter on senior night. (Spectrum News/Brian McInnis)
Justin, of Long Beach, Calif., was UH’s first BWC Goalkeeper of the Year since Alexis Mata in 2019. With length and explosiveness, she became the first freshman to win it in the Big West’s 22 seasons of the award. Justin stepped in for starter Brianna Chirpich in the final minute of the first game of the season when Chirpich went down with a season-ending injury.
She’s tied the school record for wins by a keeper (11) and set a program record with five consecutive shutouts.
Goalkeeper Kennedy Justin signed autographs for keiki after a win over UC Riverside. (Spectrum News/Brian McInnis)
Jicha, a Mililani native and Mililani High graduate, has been a mainstay at center back throughout her four-year career. She anchored a UH back line that yielded an average of 0.60 goals in conference matches. It is her third time receiving all-conference honors, but first time on the first team. She played 1,700 of a possible 1,800 minutes.
Center back Jacey Jicha on senior night against Long Beach State. (Spectrum News/Brian McInnis)
Mitchell, a Santa Cruz, Calif., native who transferred in from Saint Mary’s last year, tied for second on the team with four goals. She is the lone Wahine with a multi-goal game, against North Dakota State on Sept. 1.
Brynn Mitchell signed autographs for keiki after UH beat UC Riverside. (Spectrum News/Brian McInnis)
Davidson, of Scappoose, Ore., tied for the team lead with four assists. She’s one of four players in program history to make the Big West All-Freshman team and also make a the first or second team.
Alice Davidson made an immediate impact at defender and tied for the team lead with four assists. (Spectrum News/Brian McInnis)
Sheahan, of Highlands Ranch, Colo., was one of five BWC players with at least four goals and four assists. She started all 20 matches.
Cate Sheahan was always in the thick of the action with four goals and four assists. (Spectrum News/Brian McInnis)
Gilbert, of Mililani, was a first-teamer last year. She drew constant attention with her speed and attacking runs. Her lone goal was an important one: the winner against nemesis Cal State Fullerton in a 1-0 game on Oct. 6.
Amber Gilbert was frequently targeted by opposing defenses for her attacking runs. (Spectrum News/Brian McInnis)
Brian McInnis covers the state’s sports scene for Spectrum News Hawaii. He can be reached at brian.mcinnis@charter.com.
