PUHI — The Warrior wahine are riding a two-game winning streak.
Kapaa High School’s varsity girls soccer team defeated Island School, 3-0, Wednesday afternoon on the Island School campus in Puhi.
“We came out a little flat, maybe in a little funk, in our first time playing here at Island School,” said Kapaa head coach Andrea Alfiler. “But I think eventually, we got into a little bit more of a rhythm — finding each other at feet and finding each other into space, and really working and supporting each other.”
Kapaa (3-1-0 KIF) scored twice in the first half. The Warriors’ Wailana Makepa scored at the 19th minute for the game’s first score.
At the 32nd minute, Kapaa was awarded a free kick outside the 18-yard box. Kapaa’s Dina Hayes, rather than take a shot toward goal, served a ground pass past the Voyagers wall.
Kaleigh Ramil met Hayes’ pass and slotted the ball past Island’s goalkeeper Sophie Carswell for the goal.
“K-2 (Ramil), our right back, saw that opening. They had set up a nice wall, and our other players were kind of set up centrally,” Alfiler said. “Kaleigh saw that outside opening. She snuck in there, demanded the ball from Dina and was able to slot a beautiful ball far post.”
Kapaa’s Hannah Collins-Doijode scored the team’s third goal late in the second half.
Island School (0-4-0 KIF) had a chance to score early in the second half when the team was awarded a corner kick.
Island’s Cass Hubbard served the ball to the penalty area. After the ball took a few bounces in the 18-yard box, Kalia Hamid had a shot on goal. Her shot was saved by Warriors goalie Malia Alonzo.
Later in the second half, Island was awarded a free kick from around midfield. Katie Cook was in the area fighting for the ball for a shot on goal, but the ball went straight to Alonzo.
“Our girls are pretty young and inexperienced at the varsity level,” said Island head coach Colby Ayonon. “They’re really hesitant in the box. They’re trying to protect the keeper as much as possible, so they’re pulling away more than (when) they should push forward at times.”
Ayonon added despite the team’s youth, he saw positive signs.
“Going into the match, all we asked from the kids was to show us effort — something we can build on. It’s been our topic in the past week after the first round (of games),” he said. “I think they showed it. The first 25 minutes or so was pretty much in the center of the park. We linked together many passes.
“Still working out the kinks. We got seven freshmen on this squad. I think that says a lot. We’re asking a lot from the freshmen. Our goalie’s a freshman. A lot of our starters are freshmen. We got two starters that this is their first year ever playing organized soccer. So, we got a lot of things we’re trying to build on.”
Kapaa will play Kauai High School (4-0-0 KIF) at 3:30 p.m. Saturday at Vidinha Stadium.
“Kauai High is a tough opponent. They’ve been doing extremely well — just smoking teams,” Alfiler said. “So, we are up against a formidable opponent. We just got to keep things tight defensively and making sure we’re organized. And offensively, just playing with what the game gives to us and playing creatively.”
Island School will play Waimea (1-3-0 KIF) at noon Saturday at Hanapepe Stadium.
Scoring summary
Kapaa: Wailana Makepa (19’), Kaleigh Ramil (32’), Hannah Collins-Doijode (76’)
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Nick Celario, sports writer, can be reached at 245-0437 or ncelario@thegardenisland.com.
