LIHUE — Junior forward Brianna Binder scored twice in the early minutes as the Warriors would go on to start their season 1-0. Kapaa High School’s varsity girls soccer team defeated Kauai High, 4-2, Saturday afternoon at Vidinha Stadium. “I
LIHUE — Junior forward Brianna Binder scored twice in the early minutes as the Warriors would go on to start their season 1-0.
Kapaa High School’s varsity girls soccer team defeated Kauai High, 4-2, Saturday afternoon at Vidinha Stadium.
“I definitely felt I was a lot stronger,” Binder said. “Working together with my team, I definitely could find the runs and the through balls.”
Kapaa would score one more time in the first half to go into halftime with a 3-1 lead. Warriors senior midfielder Vanessa Hernandez struck from inside the penalty area at the 35th minute.
The Warriors then extended its lead with another score at the 55th minute by junior midfielder Kaisha Davis-Caberto.
Kapaa head coach Mytra McKeague said her team had “first-game jitters” despite the final score.
“We got to get out of (that),” McKeague said. “The score doesn’t show it, but I think our potential is a little higher. We got to play to our potential.”
McKeague added Kauai is always a tough match.
“They came out to play. We always got to be prepared against them. They pass the ball well. They executed,” she said.
Kauai High (0-1 KIF) got its first goal at the 30th minute. Red Raiders sophomore forward Kehela Ventura struck from inside the 18-yard box, and the ball bounced off a Warriors defender before making its way to the net.
“We played hard. It was a battle. It could have been closer, I think, than the score reflected,” said Kauai head coach Joe Cassler. “We had lots of opportunity on offense. Just didn’t come through today.”
The Red Raiders were awarded a penalty kick late in the second half.
Warriors senior goalkeeper Nygeria Williams was issued a yellow card on the play and had to be substituted out, and senior midfielder Natalie Devin took Williams’ place for the PK.
Red Raiders junior midfielder Kaya Ramirez took the kick. Devin had a hand on the ball, but the shot went through for the score.
“Just too little, too late. Kapaa was organized today. Give them credit for that,” Cassler said. “We just got to settle earlier. We’re taking too long to get into our style of play. That’s one thing we definitely got to work on.”
Kapaa will play Waimea at Hanapepe Stadium, and Kauai will play at Island School on Wednesday. Varsity matches will begin 4 p.m.
Scoring summary
Kapaa: Brianna Binder 2 (9’, 12’), Vanessa Hernandez (35’), Kaisha Davis-Caberto (55’)
Kauai: Kehela Ventura (30’), Kaya Ramirez (75’ PEN)