HANAPEPE — Menehune senior midfielder Kody Gardner converted on a penalty kick late to stay unbeaten.
Waimea High School’s varsity boys soccer team defeated Island School, 2-1, Saturday morning at Hanapepe Stadium.
“We had a lot of sick over break and going on vacations,” said Waimea head coach Kapono Chong-Hanssen. “All things considered, we played well. Even in the first half when we went down 1-0, it was on a penalty kick and it was unfortunate for us. But I think we had the run of the game over the course of 80 minutes, and thankfully we pulled it off to get a win in the end.”
Waimea (4-0 KIF) was awarded a penalty kick at the 79th minute. Gardner took to the spot for the Menehune and slotted the ball to the bottom right corner past the Voyagers’ keeper.
Waimea equalized at the 51st minute. Junior forward Shayden Duldulao had the ball inside the penalty area, and the Voyagers goalkeeper was caught out of position.
Duldulao tapped in the ball to level the score at 1-1.
“They’ve played together since they were little. That’s the kind of bond you build when you play together for years,” Chong-Hanssen said of his goal scorers. “They both have great talent. Talented in different ways, but they compliment each other really well.”
Island School (2-2 KIF) scored first minutes into the match.
The Voyagers were, too, awarded a penalty kick. Senior midfielder Emi De La Mora took the shot for Island School and converted.
“It was a great battle. Both teams were out there hustling, playing as hard as they could,” said Island School head coach Sean Magoun. “The game had some calls in it that really could have gone either way. At the end of the day, it’s the team that makes the fewest mistakes (will win). We made one more mistake than Waimea did, and they capitalized on that.”
Waimea next plays at 7 p.m. Wednesday at Vidinha Stadium against Kauai High School. Island School will host Kapaa at 4 p.m. Wednesday.
Varsity girls: Waimea 0, Island School 0
Waimea High and Island School played to a nil-nil draw in the following varsity girls match Saturday afternoon.
Waimea (0-0-1 KIF) was awarded a couple of corner kicks early in the second half, but couldn’t capitalize on either one.
On the first attempt, Waimea’s Luana Gadingan had the ball at her feet inside the penalty area but couldn’t get a clean shot off before the ball was eventually cleared out.
Waimea assistant coach Ui Albarado said she hopes this draw will carry some positive momentum moving forward for a Waimea team that is yet to get its first win of the season.
“When you play Island School, they’re always here to play. They give us great competition,” Albarado said. “They worked really hard and did well, too. But we’re really proud of our girls. They’ve been working really hard. It’s tough coming off of so many losses for so many years. I think this really boosted their morale, to just get a tie.”
Island School (1-4-1 KIF) was awarded a free kick just outside the 18-yard box at the 80th minute.
Voyager Mackenzie Hubbard took a shot toward goal, but her ball went straight to Menehune goalie Leiko Yamauchi.
“We definitely had a lot of shots on goal, which that has been our goal — to get more shots on goal and increase our chances to score a little bit more,” said Island School head coach Colby Ayonon. “I think we accomplished that this game. Now, I think we just need to be a little more selective with our shots.”
Waimea’s Kaira Kelekoma was issued a yellow card for tripping in the second half.
Island School will host Kapaa at 4 p.m. Tuesday. Waimea will play Kauai High at 5 p.m. Wednesday at Vidinha Stadium.
