LIHU‘E — Caitlyn Cantorna netted two goals in the second half to lead the Kaua‘i junior varsity girls to a 4-0 win over Waimea, Thursday afternoon at the Vidinha Stadium.
The girls JV game opened the second day of Kaua‘i Interscholastic Federation soccer which played the varsity games, Wednesday and wrapped up with three JV games, Thursday at the Island School campus and Vidinha Stadium.
Kaylee Tamura and Mia Chan struck in the first half to give the Kaua‘i girls JV a 2-0 lead before Cantorna found the net on her first goal at the 41st minute, following that goal by capping a corner kick from Tamura in the 49th minute in heavy traffic outside the Waimea goalmouth.
On Wednesday, the Kaua‘i varsity girls enjoyed a fairly easy shutout over the Menehune when Alyssa “Malu” Vegas led the charge with a hat trick, or three goals scored against Waimea in the Red Raiders’ 5-0 win.
Vegas opened the books and scored her second goal to lead Kaua‘i to a 3-0 halftime lead, her goals being added to by defender Isabelle “Jazzy” Curtis who booted a kick from near midfield for Kaua‘i’s second goal.
Kawailehua Hamberg joined Vegas in the second half scoring for the win.
The Kapa‘a JV girls took an early lead over the Voyagers in an exhibition match, Madisson Hinkel finding the net in the first 15 minutes of play, the score igniting the Voyagers’ offense which made its first sojourn into Warrior territory.
But the effort was overshadowed by the Warrior JV wahine who pocketed a 6-0 win, goals being added by Kaylee Silva, Alanna Bauman, Ana Cunningham and two goals from Taylor Kaneakua.
The boys’ arena, however, presented three nail-biters as the Kapa‘a varsity took advantage of a late-game foul to move the ball to Daniel Alonzo for the only score in Kapa‘a’s 1-0 edge over Island School, Wednesday at the Puhi campus.
“There was a foul near midfield which distracted the Voyager defense,” said Sean Magoun, the Island School coach, Thursday while helping coach the JV girls. “Kapa‘a capitalized on the lapse and moved the ball to score with less than 30 seconds left in the game.”
Magoun said he heard the game between the Kaua‘i and Waimea boys at Vidinha Stadium was a “real barn-burner” which Waimea won 4-1.
“There were four, or five penalty kicks,” Magoun said.
Ross Shimabukuro, the Kaua‘i athletic director, said the Kaua‘i boys had their chances, but when you get three, four, or five chances at penalty kicks and can only score one, his voice trailed off.
Kyle Napoleon notched Kaua‘i’s only score in the match while Waimea’s Devan Banasihan-Kenney, the swift-footed forward from the football program led the Menehune with two goals scored.
Isaac Fierro and Micah Quinlan netted the other two goals.
The intensity of the game was reflected in the number of yellow cards issued, the Raiders getting one when Devin Portillo was issued a subsequent caution while Waimea received three cards, Byron Freitas and Kaleo Hauata being warned of unsporting conduct and Brian Ceballos tagged for serious foul play.
Reni Pereira, a Waimea parent, said in an email, the parents are proud of what the Menehune accomplished, winning over Kapa‘a before the winter break, and following the victory with a win over Kaua‘i, Wednesday night.
“The win over Kapa‘a the other week, and Kaua‘i High this week is due to our coaches who made adjustments and are able to make the most of each player on the field,” Pereira said in an email. “We are so proud of these boys.”
Jacob Lewis headed in a Kaiea Iwasaki corner kick in the second half to break a 0-0 halftime deadlock, Thursday as Kaua‘i JV boys posted a 1-0 win over Waimea in a highly defensive slugfest which tested both teams’ goalkeepers and midfield.
As the game wound down, it became apparent the victory was taking its toll on the Kaua‘i squad as its players substituted in and out in an effort to cope with cramping.
Kapa‘a will travel to Hanapepe Stadium for four games against Waimea, the JV girls starting at 10 a.m. followed by the JV boys starting at 11:45 a.m. The varsity girls open afternoon play starting at 1:30 p.m. followed by the finale, the varsity boys starting at 3:30 p.m.
Kaua‘i is scheduled for Island School with the varsity boys kicking off at 10 a.m. followed by a JV girls exhibition match at noon.
• Dennis Fujimoto, photographer and staff writer, can be reached at 245-3681 (ext. 253) or dfujimoto@ thegardenisland.com.
