WAILUA — Three girls with No. 8 jersies. Effective field work by the yellow shirts saw the Kaua’i Soccer Association (KSA) KSC-Central take a 6-2 win in the final season game, Sunday at the Wailua Houselot Park. Despite the use
WAILUA — Three girls with No. 8 jersies. Effective field work by the yellow shirts saw the Kaua’i Soccer Association (KSA) KSC-Central take a 6-2 win in the final season game, Sunday at the Wailua Houselot Park.
Despite the use of white tape to designate “18,” and “81,” the tough defensive action caused the numbers to result in three No. 8 players for the KSC-Central team.
Kathryn Curtis was battling the defensive end of midfield with her white tape barely clinging to her jersey, while forward Auika Muragin played opposite Skye Shimabukuro in forward, her white tape disappearing in the grass early in the game against KSC-North.
Muragin broke a defensive slugfest as she opened the scoring window for KSC-Central at the 15-minute mark on a pass coming from a tough midfield battle by Central’s Emma Makepa-Foley, the third No. 8 player in yellow for the 1-0 lead.
Muragin paralleled that feat at the 33-minute mark on a pass resulting from a throw-in breakaway, that goal bulleting past the North’s goalie for the 2-0 bulge.
But, North was not to be denied as they worked the ball to Lila Neuberger who answered with a goal at the 40-minute mark for the 2-1 halftime read, that goal soaring just past the fingertips of Central goalie KC Gaitos.
Central coaches Kevin Devitt and Karl Ubongen thumbed through the playbook to come up with the one-two Muragin/Skye Shimabukuro punch up front while posting Makepa-Foley in midfield and anchoring the defense with Tiffany Ikeda-Simao for four more second-half goals to finish the day with a 6-2 victory.
Muragin had the assist in the first second-half goal notched by Shimabukuro with KSC-North battling back on an answering goal by Roxanne Belmonte at the 80th minute.
But, three more unanswered Central goals sealed the fate of the North girls who suffered the loss of one of their defenders at the goalmouth.
The Muragin/Shimabukuro combination saw two more second-half goals, with Muragin icing the victory on a goal just seconds before the final whistle.
Darci Murata’s heads-up play at the goalmouth resulted in another goal as the ball dribbled past North goalie Tamalyn Hasegawa who came in during the second half and was responsible for several high profile saves of Central shot-on-goals.
These two teams play again, Sunday at 11:30 a.m. when KSA hosts the final day of playoffs at the Wailua Houselots Park.
