PUHI — Kapa‘a goalkeeper Shane Nishioka-Healy waited all year for the second half of Wednesday’s game at the Island School complex. Head coach Kevin Cram pulled the goalkeeper in the second half, placing him first on the right wing where
PUHI — Kapa‘a goalkeeper Shane Nishioka-Healy waited all year for the second half of Wednesday’s game at the Island School complex.
Head coach Kevin Cram pulled the goalkeeper in the second half, placing him first on the right wing where he was in line for a goal which came after several attempts, accompanied by the encouragement of his team mates under the Quick Tent to ice the 3-1 victory over the Island School Voyagers.
“He was hurt during the summer and never really got to play,” said Sybil Nishioka, Shane’s mother, following the game. “He was waiting all year for that goal.”
The victory gives the Kapa‘a boys the Kaua‘i Interscholastic Federation title, advancing the team to the Outrigger Hotels and Resorts /Hawai‘i High School Athletic Association state championships on O‘ahu, Feb. 15 through 18 at the Waipio Peninsula.
“We need a win,” said Cram, prior to the start of the game. “We have an eight-point lead and if we win, we can drop the other two games and still have enough to take the KIF title. A tie, or a loss, will still keep the chase alive.”
But that did not happen as the Warriors quickly established control over the field and following a platoon change of the midfield and forwards, J.B. Goode found the net from the rightside pocket.
Ten minutes later, Daniel Alonzo capped a nice drive sparked by midfielder Joshua Cram to passed to the forward for the 2-0 halftime lead.
With its lineup switched, Nishioka-Healy iced the victory, his foot finding the ball in traffic generated by a corner kick from Joshua Cram. Cram demonstated his versatility at different areas around the field, even taking a stint at filling in for Nishioka-Healy during a respite on the right wing.
Similarly, normal Kapa‘a stopper Ty Shiramizu was allowed a stint in the forward ranks before Island School’s Ryan Perez prevented a shut-out by launching a long ball from about 40 yards out just as the Kapa‘a bench yelled out warnings of “Pressure him!”
Kaua‘i 5, Waimea 1
Eduardo Villarrubia finished with a hat trick and Juanjo Jimenez added two goals to lead the Kaua‘i High School varsity to a 5-1 win over Waimea at the Hanapepe Stadium.
In the win, Kaua‘i replaced Dylan Snyder as goalkeeper, said Tom Snyder, Dylan’s father. The move was similar to Kapa‘a who pulled Nishioka-Healy in the second half and Tom said, Waimea also had Wyatt Taniguchi, the Menehune’s normal goalkeeper, take the field instead of the goalbox.
Devan Banasihan-Kenny scored Waimea’s sole goal.
Kapa‘a hosts Waimea for the final time, Saturday at Vidinha Stadium, the Junior Varsity game starting at 1 p.m. followed by the varsity boys at 2:45 p.m. due to testing.
Kapa‘a girls get a chance
Greg Gonsalves, the Kapa‘a athletic director, said following the varsity boys’ match, there will be a play-in game for the HHSAA Division II girls featuring the Kapa‘a Warriors, runners-up in the KIF, against either Mid-Pacific Institute or the Pac-5. Both Mid-Pac and Pac-5 are vying for the Div. II title in the O‘ahu Interscholastic Federation and Kapa‘a will play the runner-up of the title match.
