Replacing seniors Kelly McCloskey and Brittney Aiwohi will be a tall order.

McCloskey, a 5-foot-9 midfielder/defender, and Aiwohi, a 5-10 backup goalkeeper, are the two tallest players on the University of Hawai'i women's soccer team.

While their height hasn't been a factor recently — McCloskey has not played the past five games because of a knee injury, and Aiwohi has only played three games this season — their larger-than-life attitudes promote a positive atmosphere for the team.

Each has "a positive presence," Hawai'i coach Pinsoom Tenzing said. "Everybody likes them. There's not one kid who will say anything negative about them, and that is very unusual with a group of 24 to 25 kids."

The seniors will be honored in the final home game for the Rainbow Wahine (8-7-2, 2-2) today after a Western Athletic Conference game against San Jose State (6-8-2, 3-0-1).

The game is at 5 p.m. at Waipi'o Peninsula Soccer Stadium. Hawai'i concludes the regular season on the road in games against Nevada and Fresno State.

"If we win the next three games, anything can happen," Tenzing said. "We gave away two games (Utah State and Boise State). But last season we won the WAC with a 5-2 record."

Winning their final three games would "put us in a positive direction as far as wins-losses is concerned," Tenzing said. "The team has been positive the entire way. What was really gratifying to see was that in Monday's game (a 2-1 loss to Utah State), they didn't drop their heads. With two minutes left they kept trying to score, believing they would score. That's the sort of thing that's difficult to ingrain in kids."

While the team is "playing beautiful soccer," they are not putting the ball into the net, "and obviously in the long run, it's disheartening," Tenzing said. Hawai'i has scored 23 goals in 17 games.

Tenzing believes that throughout the entire season, the Rainbow Wahine have only been outplayed in one half, in a loss to San Diego. "Other than that, they've outplayed every team in every game," he said.

Both seniors will likely not play in their senior send-off game, but are still considered key parts of the team.

McCloskey played in 57 games in her career, with 36 starts. She played mainly at midfielder her sophomore and junior seasons, but was a capable replacement at defender for Shawn Higa, who injured her knee early in the season. In her career, she has three goals and four assists. This season she was named the WAC Defensive Player of the Week after scoring the game-winning goal on a free kick in a 2-1 win over Detroit.

Tenzing said McCloskey has "a sterling character," and never complained when she would be moved in and out of the starting lineup.

"She never fussed when people played ahead of her," Tenzing said. "And she would talk about how much they had improved, instead of the norm people her age thinking, 'Why is she going in ahead of me?' "

Aiwohi joined the team in the spring after her four-year career with the women's basketball team ended. She was a welcome addition, because starter Kori Lu did not have a backup. If Lu went down, "It would have been (starting defender) Lehua Wood," Tenzing said.

Aiwohi has not allowed a goal in 75 minutes, but Tenzing said she has been "more than a goalkeeper. She's a terrific individual, and very supportive of the team and coaches. It is truly an honor for me to know someone like her. She has maturity beyond her years."

Reach Leila Wai at lwai@honoluluadvertiser.com.