When Kaua’i travels to Hanapepe Stadium on Saturday, this will be the final scheduled KIF soccer game of the 2003-04 season, but the soccer balls may be flying beyond Saturday. The Kaua’i Red Raider girls have already clinched the KIF
When Kaua’i travels to Hanapepe Stadium on Saturday, this will be the final scheduled KIF soccer game of the 2003-04 season, but the soccer balls may be flying beyond Saturday.
The Kaua’i Red Raider girls have already clinched the KIF girls title with a 6-win, 0-loss, 1-tie season entering the gates at Hanapepe for their 4:30 p.m. contest against the Menehune girls.
Emma Makepa-Foley led the Red Raider women with nine goals scored in the season with Holly Iloreta entering Hanapepe with four goals, Sierra Jansons-Dizon close behind with three goals to date.
“The girls have to mentally and physically prepare themselves for states,” girls head coach Blanche Arakaki said. “The teams they’ll face are a lot harder, and they play physical.”
“With 13 seniors playing their final game, I know that the girls will even try harder to do well at states,” Arakaki added.
Game time for the girls is no earlier than 4:30 p.m. Saturday, Jan. 31.
On the boys side of the coin, what is at stake Saturday is the KIF title when the Menehune and Red Raiders go head-to-head, both teams needing to win due to an 8-8 point standings by both squads, but Waimea entering the stadium with a slight advantage.
Should Kaua’i win Saturday night’s contest that kicks off no earlier than 6:30 p.m., the Menehune have a shot in the game against Kapa’a that was called earlier in the season due to lightning.
Waimea needs to win that game to claim the KIF title. That game is tentatively scheduled for Wednesday, Feb. 4 at Vidinha Stadium.
Should Kapa’a win that game, both Waimea and Kaua’i will end up tied for the lead necessitating a playoff for the title.
The Menehune men, on the other hand, can end everything Saturday night with a win over Kaua’i, a task that may seem easier said than done, the Menehune dropping their last two matches, one against Kaua’i, and the other against Kapa’a last Saturday, a 1-0 squeaker.
At any rate, the beneficiaries of this head-to-head, down-to-the-wire decider is the fans who can expect a tight game from both teams that will square off no earlier than 6:30 p.m. Saturday, Jan. 31.
