A walk down a street block in Reno, Nev., confirmed University of Hawai'i women's soccer coach Pinsoom Tenzing's worst fears for the team's Western Athletic Conference opener.

"I just walked out at midday to get some water from Walgreens which is a block away, and in the midday sun I nearly froze to death," Tenzing said in a phone call from Reno yesterday.

Temperatures are expected to be in the lower 40s for the Rainbow Wahine's game tonight against the Wolf Pack.

"(The Wolf Pack) haven't won (yet this season), and what better way to start than to knock off the WAC champions," Tenzing said. "This is the team that won the championship a few years ago, and they are coming of age as seniors.

"The field we are playing on has got to be the most ludicrous piece of real estate soccer is played on. It's too fast, the Astroturf is worn completely down. The soccer game is about control, and every ball that comes at you comes at you with an attitude."

Hawai'i won three of the past five WAC regular-season titles, and broke through with its first tournament title last season. This season, the WAC Tournament is in Reno.

The Rainbow Wahine (4-4-3) follow tonight's Nevada (0-9-2) game against conference rival Fresno State (4-7-1) on Sunday against a team picked with Hawai'i to win the WAC in a preseason vote by conference coaches.

"It's a really, really well-coached team," Tenzing said of the Bulldogs. "In Nevada the circumstances conspire against us, and at Fresno State the field is long and narrow and there's a crown on it.

"The quality of the team is the other concern."

The Rainbow Wahine have been playing "the entire year with one hand tied behind our backs because of injuries," Tenzing said. "We are walking into the WAC gingerly, with several of our stars not 100 percent."

It will be game-time decisions on the status of WAC Defensive Player of the Year Tehane Higa, who missed the last four games because of a sprained ankle. WAC Offensive Player of the Year Ambree Ako has not completely healed from a leg injury.

Without the two, and possibly defender Chelsea Deptula, the team is about "60 percent," Tenzing said.

Nevertheless, Tenzing has "nothing but great hope, because we are deep and they give it everything they have.

"We've gone with it the entire season and we've played some really good teams, and we've beaten some. We shouldn't have lost any."