The University of Hawai‘i soccer team was picked to finish first in the Big West Conference coaches preseason poll on Thursday.
The Rainbow Wahine went 12-8-1 overall in 2024, including 8-1-1 in Big West contests, good for the regular season conference title. Winning the regular season also came with hosting rights in the conference tournament, but the 'Bows were one-and-done, losing to Cal State Bakersfield 3-0 in the semifinals at Waipio Peninsula Soccer Stadium.
In 2025, the 'Bows return 20 members of the 2024 team, including leading goal scorer Nalani Damacion and veteran forward Amber Gilbert, both of whom were selected to the preseason All-Big West team as well on Thursday.
Of the 11 first-place votes in the preseason poll, six went to the Rainbow Wahine, while UC Santa Barbara had three.
The Rainbow Wahine will be the first UH team to have an official contest this fall, embarking on a California road trip next week that includes matches at Long Beach State on Aug. 14 and Pepperdine on Aug. 17.
The 2025 Big West women's soccer preseason poll is below (first-place votes in parenthesis):
Preseason Big West Poll
1. Hawai'i – 88 (6)
2. UC Santa Barbara – 84 (3)
3. UC Irvine – 81 (1)
4. Long Beach State – 74 (1)
5. Cal State Fullerton – 73
6. Cal Poly – 53
7. UC San Diego – 42
8. UC Davis – 37
9. Cal State Bakersfield – 27
9. CSUN – 27
11. UC Riverside – 19
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Christian Shimabuku can be reached at christian@alohastatedaily.com.
