LIHU‘E — Corey Rita’s goal in the second half reversed the standings in the Kaua‘i Men’s Soccer Association, Sunday at Vidinha Stadium. That goal gave Afterburners, the defending champions from the 2009 season, a 1-0 win over Hanalei, undefeated until
LIHU‘E — Corey Rita’s goal in the second half reversed the standings in the Kaua‘i Men’s Soccer Association, Sunday at Vidinha Stadium.
That goal gave Afterburners, the defending champions from the 2009 season, a 1-0 win over Hanalei, undefeated until Sunday and leading the standings.
Both teams battled tenaciously through most of the games, the defense holding strong against each other’s offense, but when the dust settled, Hanalei, entering the arena in first place with six points, was overtaken by Afterburners who now lead the league with seven points.
Chris McKeown and Eddie Adams provided the go-ahead goals for Kryptonite in the second game, wrapping up a 4-2 win over Canefire who battled through most of the match with one man short.
The match started with Canefire fielding just 10 players, but that did not stop the team from netting the game’s first goal when Brian Knight hit paydirt.
But with one man down, Kryptonite controlled the game with Duncan MacDonald knotting the game and scoring again to give Kryptonite a 2-1 halftime lead.
Again, Kryptonite was not deterred and scored the first goal of the second half, knotting things 2-2 when Brad Seymour found the goal on a tough shot from the leftside.
By that time, Canefire reinforcements showed up to equalize the field, but not for long. The Canefire goalkeeper picked up a red card and left the field, depleting the Canefire field, again.
That set the stage for Kryptonite to control the field, scoring goals from McKeown and Adams for the final.
Sunday is the last game before a two-weekend break, said Gary Hudson of the KMSA.
Hanalei (6 points) will be attempting to regain the lead in the standings when it takes on Kryptonite (4 points) starting at 4 p.m. at Vidinha Stadium. That game will be followed by Canefire, looking for its first season win, taking on the Afterburners, currently in first place with seven points.
Hudson said there will be no KMSA games on Feb. 7 due to the NFL Super Bowl, and on Feb. 14, the league takes a break due to Valentine’s Day.
