With little room to breathe in conference play for the University of Hawai 'i, senior forward Ambree Ako gave the team enough reason to shout.

Ako scored two goals as the Rainbow Wahine won their first Western Athletic Conference game at home with a 3-1 win over Utah State last night. A crowd of 1,012 saw UH's final home WAC game of the season at the Waipi 'o Peninsula Soccer Stadium.

"It's just an all-around amazing feeling, being that it's senior night and everything," Ako said. "I was able enough to get at least two goals out of it. I'm pretty stoked."

Hawai 'i (6-10-1, 2-4-0) got its second WAC win of the season — both against the Aggies (8-8-2, 3-2-1), last year's regular-season champs who came to Honolulu with a four-game unbeaten streak. The Rainbow Wahine moved into a tie for seventh place. Six of the WAC's nine teams advance to the conference tournament next month.

"It's a very big relief. Senior year, you don't want to go out without going to the tournament," Ako said. "It's a great feeling to still be alive."

Hawai 'i hopes to extend its season with road victories against Boise State Friday and Idaho Sunday.

Last night, the Rainbow Wahine took an early lead on a Kristyn Shapka goal in the fifth minute. Ako took a corner kick from the left side that floated to the back post and senior defender Shauna Musser headed it out to Shapka, who headed it into the goal from near the penalty kick mark.

In a flashback of Friday night's loss to Nevada when the Wolf Pack scored 25 seconds after the Rainbow Wahine did, the Aggies tied it 64 seconds later when the Hawai 'i defense failed to clear the ball and it skirted inside to the top of the 6-yard box. Utah State sophomore forward Shantel Flanary put away the open shot.

The Rainbow Wahine moved ahead to stay on Ako's penalty kick in the 32nd minute. She had been taken down inside the 18-yard box.

"I usually take the PKs and I felt good enough to take it," Ako said. "So, why not?"

Ako scored again in the 60th minute on an assist from senior midfielder Kelsie Look, whom coach Pinsoom Tenzing said had one of the best games of her career. Look beat a defender before touching the ball to Ako inside the 18-yard box. Ako finished into the lower left side of the goal.

"I thought she was going to give it to me a second before she did," Ako said. "So I was like, 'Aww,' and then she juked a girl and I was like 'Oh sick,' and then she passed me the ball and I was like 'Sweet!' And then I shot it and was like, 'Yay!'

After the match, Hawai 'i said aloha to seniors Ako, Shapka, Britta Bourne, Musser, Look, Vanessa Bailey, Julia Siljestrom and Larilyn Alota in a ceremony.

"I didn't think it was a particularly well-played game, but (we) won," Tenzing said. "I'll take the play from the other day and the victory of today. I'm getting greedy in my old age."