LIHU‘E — Don’t count the Pink Panthers out yet.
Faced with the possibility of being eliminated, the Hanapepe Pink Panthers came back from a 2-0 halftime deficit to chalk up three unanswered goals to stay alive, 3-2 over the Lihu‘e Sour Skittles, Thursday at the North Vidinha fields.
The Lihu‘e Sour Skittles, suffering their second loss, take to the sidelines of the American Youth Soccer Organization, Region 940 playoffs that started with the Under 12 Girls division, Tuesday afternoon.
On the other side of the field, the Lihu‘e Strikers remain undefeated after the Kawamura twins, Kaylin and Kristin, each netted two goals in their 4-1 win over the Lihu‘e Clovers.
Seana Date netted the Clovers’ sole goal, Thursday.
With the win, the Strikers host the Waimea (Abadilla) Under 12 girls, Saturday starting at 1:30 p.m. while the Clovers enjoy a bye until Tuesday. Earlier in the week, Waimea was a 4-1 winner over Koloa (Batteiger) in a game played at Kalawai Park.
Taylor Pacol opened the books with a nice cross play to put the Sour Skittles on the scoreboard. Following defensive skirmishes from both sides, Chantel Rusaw put Lihu‘e up 2-0 at the half.
Taking advantage of the break, the Hanapepe Pink Panthers appeared to be rejuvenated as McKenna Hick took control of the ball at midfield and marched it upfield, flanked by Lihu‘e defenders. Hicks’ shot up the middle kept Hanapepe in the chase.
Taking a pass from the outside, Hicks tied the game on another drive up the middle to score, again challenged by Lihu‘e Sour Skittle defenders.
Haley Okamoto, playing midfield and occasionally drifting to the wing, iced the victory late in the game.
“This is the girls’ first win all season,” said Hanapepe coach Robert Medeiros following the win. “A lot of them have never played before so we approached each game with the intent of just having fun. I told them to enjoy each game they play.”
Paul Curtis, officiating the match with Brian Inouye, said Inouye commented on the level of improvement on the part of both teams.
Medeiros had to check the game book to see the Panthers’ next opponent, not expecting the team’s first win of the season that came with its back against the wall during the playoffs.
The Pink Panthers will square off against Koloa (Batteiger) starting at 1:30 p.m., Saturday at the North Vidinha field.
The playoffs continue with a total of seven matches being played at different sites in the Region 940 starting at 9 a.m. The Under 12 Boys, Under 14 Boys and Under 14 Girls divisions begin its first round play.
