HANAPEPE — Devan Banashihan-Kenney’s first goal was a demonstation of his power. The second showcased his touch. And his third and final goal highlighted his ability to slam the door on the opposition. Banashihan-Kenney had a foot in all four
HANAPEPE — Devan Banashihan-Kenney’s first goal was a demonstation of his power. The second showcased his touch. And his third and final goal highlighted his ability to slam the door on the opposition.
Banashihan-Kenney had a foot in all four of Waimea’s goals, leading the Menehune to a 4-2 win over the Kapa‘a Warriors Saturday afternoon at Hanapepe Stadium.
“He’s our workhorse,” Waimea head coach Dalton Matsuyama said of Banashihan-Kenney. “He had a great game and was invovled in all of our goals. He works hard and pushes. You can’t expect anything more.”
After being shut out in their season opener against Kaua‘i on Tuesday, the Menehune wasted little time getting on the scoreboard. The Warriors dominated possesion for the first two minutes, but the Menehune forced a turnover in the third minute and pushed back toward the Warrior goal. Streaking down the right side, Banashihan-Kenney caught a lead pass and promtly fired a shot with his right foot that zipped across the Kapa‘a goal and into the top left corner of the net for a 1-0 Menehune lead.
Six minutes later, Banashihan-Kenney again came down the right side, but instead of shooting, the forward crossed a pass in front of the net that Isaac Fiero headed into the net for a 2-0 lead.
In the 19th minute, this time Banashihan-Kenney took to the left side of the goal. From about 20 yards out, Banashihan-Kenney lobbed a shot with his left foot that sailed across the goal mouth, landing just out of the reach of the Kapa‘a keeper and into the net, giving the Menehune a 3-0 lead.
With a short roster and up against a tough team like Kapa‘a, Banashihan-Kenney said it was crucial for the Menehune to grab a quick lead. The Warriors controled the ball for the majority of the game, but Banashihan-Kenney said the Menehune knew they would get opportunites, and when they did, they had to take adavantage.
“I told myself I had to push hard so we could get the lead early, and then go from there,” Banashihan-Kenney said. “It’s all about putting pressure on them and forcing mistakes and capitilizing on them.”
Jumping out to a lead proved crucial for the Menehune, as the Warriors, who showed they could score in bunches after a 6-0 win against Island School on Thursday, came back hard.
The Warriors pulled the score to within two at the end of the first half. After a yellow card on Waimea goaltender Wyatt Taniguchi, the Warriors had a free kick right outside the Menehune box. With the Menehune defenders lining up against the kick, Dylan Devin slid a pass over to Joshua Cram, who booted the ball into the Menehune goal.
In the second half, the Warriors closed the gap to a goal when Michael Alonzo outran Waimea defender Tresten Nakashima and booted a ball past Taniguchi to make the score 3-2.
But then, Banashihan-Kenney showed his clutch gene. With the Warriors pressuring again, Banashihan-Kenney intercepted a pass, broke away and poked his third goal of the afternoon in to give the Menehune a 4-2 lead in the 65th minute.
The Warriors had several chances down the stretch to cut into the lead, but the strong play of Taniguchi kept the Warriors from chipping away.
“We had our opportunities, we just couldn’t put them past the keeper,” Kapa‘a head coach Kevin Cram said. “It wasn’t that the chances weren’t there. Our finishing was poor.”
Waimea didn’t have near as many chances as the Warriors did, but what won the game was the Menehune’s ability to make the most of what was given.
“We’re not a possesion team and we don’t have that many subs,” Matsuyama said. “We work on marking up, and when we take the ball away we’re going right down the post. We played our gameplan today and it paid off.”
• Tyson Alger, sports writer, can be reached at 245-3681 (ext. 237) or by emailing talger@ thegardenisland.com. Follow him on twitter.com/tysonalger.
