LIHU‘E — The anticipated thunderstorms could not hold off long enough for the KIF soccer games to complete, and shortly after 6 p.m., Greg Gonsalves, athletic director of the hosting Kapa‘a High School Warriors, announced the cancellation of the final Saturday night game due to the lightning that punctuated the cloudy skies above Vidinha Stadium.
“We’re not taking any chances,” Gonsalves said as he studied the skies that saw lightning increased in frequency as the rains turned into a deluge just as the varsity girls game wound down.
Gonsalves said that under the KIF guidelines, the boys game between Waimea and Kapa‘a would be tacked on to the end of the season, and would probably not be played unless it had bearings on the standings.
Earlier in the day, three games were played under skies that grew increasingly threatening as the afternoon wore on.
The Waimea High School JV boys, outmanned nine players to 11, succumbed to Kapa‘a 5-0, but not before holding the Warriors scoreless through most of the first half.
Rayon Ribero led the Kapa‘a JV boys with two goals in the win. Gabe Rossler, Matthew Boldt, and Daniel Rodderick each had a goal in that victory.
Rancy Wilson drew first blood for the Kapa‘a JV girls, but Waimea answered with two quick goals to take a 2-1 halftime lead enroute to their final 3-2 victory.
Chasen Sherman led the JV Menehune girls with two goals in the win, her first coming in answer to Wilson’s icebreaker.
Lexine Valenciano added the go-ahead in the first half.
Llana Lei Jiminez came back for Kapa‘a in the second half to knot things up 2-2 only to have Sherman score the go-ahead goal in the win.
Liana Kakalia broke open the defensive-oriented varsity girls contest with about 12 minutes remaining in the first half as the Warrior wahine went on to down Waimea 4-0 in the pouring rain.
Waimea came back in the second half as Anna Baudouin led the offensive effort along with Jenny Morita, Baudouin breaking away down the left side, and firing past a Warrior defender only to have her shot-on-goal clang off the goal post.
Courtney Kerun upped the ante for Kapa‘a at the 18:24 mark, and Brittney Carvalho followed through on a cross from Kakalia for goal number three.
Roxanne Belmonte iced the victory with a follow-through kick that came on a corner kick late in the game.
The Waimea Menehune will host Kaua‘i High School on Saturday, Jan. 3 at Hanapepe Stadium as the KIF wraps up the second of four rounds.
On Jan. 8, Kapa‘a will host Kaua‘i at Vidinha Stadium to open up the third round of play.
