HANAPEPE — Waimea junior varsity girls soccer defender Ember Teter had a full workout, Wednesday afternoon. Twice in the second half, she succumbed to cramps, but overcame the ordeal to continue, waving off the trainer in the first occurrence. “Don’t
HANAPEPE — Waimea junior varsity girls soccer defender Ember Teter had a full workout, Wednesday afternoon.
Twice in the second half, she succumbed to cramps, but overcame the ordeal to continue, waving off the trainer in the first occurrence.
“Don’t leave an open green,” came the command from midfield, and Teter was the final stop before goalkeeper Wendi Tokuuke.
That put a lot of pressure on Ember, whose sister Tierra filled one of the forward wing positions, who was kept busy throughout the game utilizing her speed to break up passes and booting the ball harmlessly.
But it was not all effective as Kapa‘a got two goals, one in each half, in its 2-0 edge over Lady Menehune.
Tokuuke held tough on initial Warrior JV attacks, but the shot from Kapa‘a forward Coral Green had just enough power and height to cause the ball to slip out of the Menehune goalie’s gloves and tumble into the net in the seventh minute.
That put the Warriors into offensive mode, controlling the first half in the Waimea block with strong stops from its midfield anchored by Taylor Foster, Kekai Gonsalves, Ashlie Overmyer and Kendra Vegas. Chloe Fredericksen moved the ball into the forwards, getting an assist in the Warriors’ second-half goal when Fredericksen found Foster on the far side for the goal in the 37th minute.
The yellow shoes of Kapa‘a’s Kehaulani Relacion kept the ball free from goalkeeper Madeline Rausch for most of the first half, although Waimea was able to penetrate in the second half, only to have Rausch keep the ball out of the net.
Kapa‘a’s transition game kept the ball out of reach of Waimea shooters Jayme Knapp, Tiera Teter and Sanoe Taniguchi-Simbre who adjusted to midfield in the second half where she was able to get more touches, but could not close the door.
The Warrior varsity wahine repeated the scenario as Laurie Tamya and Rachel Hinkel netted goals for the varsity’s 2-0 win over Waimea in the Hanapepe Stadium nightcap.
Whitney Pigao, one of the strong defenders for Kaua‘i girls JV, came up with a goal in the closing minutes of play to prevent a loss against Island School girls JV.
Whitney found the net in the 69th minute, resulting in a 3-3 deadlock after Kaua‘i battled back from a 2-0 halftime deficit and was finally able to stalemate the contest.
Dani Grainger found the goal in the 13th minute for the first Island School mark, and with a minute left in the half, netted a goal in the 34th minute for the 2-0 Voyager lead.
Leiana Alejandro finally found the net for Kaua‘i, five minutes into the second half, only to have Island School answer with a Keanu Green goal in the 45th minute for the 3-1 lead.
Kyren Ishikawa pulled the Red Raiders into the fray with 10 minutes showing, but it was Pigao’s final-minute goal that kept Kaua‘i out of the “L” column.
The girls will be back on the field Saturday, as the Kapa‘a JV will host Island School in an exhibition match starting at 10 a.m. at the New Kapa‘a Town Park stadium.
Kaua‘i will travel to Hanapepe Stadium where the JV girls kick off starting at 1:30 p.m. followed by the varsity girls at 3:30 p.m.
The boys return to the field on Jan. 12 when they follow the varsity girls at the New Kapa‘a Town Park stadium. Kapa‘a will host Kaua‘i in that matchup with the girls kicking off at 4:30 p.m., followed by the boys at 6:30 p.m.
