LIHU‘E — The hint of rain at the final note of referee Joe Tucker’s game-ending whistle only served to cool down an intense day of Kaua‘i Interscholastic Federation boys soccer at Vidinha Stadium. Island School, rolling behind the momentum of
LIHU‘E — The hint of rain at the final note of referee Joe Tucker’s game-ending whistle only served to cool down an intense day of Kaua‘i Interscholastic Federation boys soccer at Vidinha Stadium.
Island School, rolling behind the momentum of its win in KIF boys basketball, Friday night, upset the Kaua‘i Red Raiders 4-0 in a 10 a.m. matchup.
That was followed by a 1-1 slugfest as the Kapa‘a JV battled the Waimea JV to set the stage for the finale.
Lowen Gonzales found the net in the 76th minute to break a 1-1 intense defensive stalemate to give Kapa‘a a 2-1 win.
“By losing the match to Island School, Kaua‘i High School pretty much gave us the KIF title,” said Kapa‘a coach Kevin Cram as he watched his boys warm up. “We didn’t have enough points for the title, and if Kaua‘i had won its match against Island School, the game which was rained out earlier in the season would have had to be played. Now, that game won’t need to go on.”
Midfielder Ryan Perez started the action in the final gasps of the first half for Island School.
KIF official Bill Lemke said the Voyager midfielder played the ball right, breaking up the middle and staying clear of offsides to give Island School a 1-0 edge at the half, the ball clearing Kaua‘i goalkeeper Dylan Snyder in the 40th minute.
Coming out of the half, Island School continued its roll, Logan Domingo getting a penalty kick past Snyder in the 46th minute.
Corey Nemeth, midfielder for Kaua‘i, was issued a yellow card for unsportsmanlike play to mark the beginning of the end for the Raiders.
That shuffled the Kaua‘i lineup with all of its players getting a chance on the grass through liberal substitutions, and Island School wrapping up its win with goals from Kellan Wortmann in the 53rd minute and another Domingo goal in the 60th minute.
“Our record is still intact,” said Gary Hudson, a Kapa‘a JV coach following its 1-1 stalemate against Waimea. “We don’t have a loss. A tie is not a loss.”
Chas Pham scored for Kapa‘a and Micah Quinlan found the net for Waimea in the deadlock.
Joshua Quinlan, Micah’s older brother, was a casualty in the varsity game that followed after getting a red card in the second half for serious foul play after being involved in a close-quarter scuffle with Kapa‘a goalkeeper Shane Nishioka-Healy on a scoring attempt from Devan Banasihan-Kenney.
That triggered the Menehune goalie coach Darren Kosen, who was later ejected for dissent in the intense matchup.
Early in the game, Cram pushed his forces to establish themselves, peppering Menehune goalkeeper Beau Acoba.
That persistence paid off with the ball being kept on the Waimea side of the field for most of the first half, Nishioka-Healy being limited to not more than three saves in the period.
After effectively stopping several early shots on goal, Kapa‘a’s Gonzales found a clear run down the left side and crossed to a waiting Max Goode who broke into the scorebooks in the eighth minute.
But the defensive slugfest that ensued proved costly to Kapa‘a when one of its captains, Hunter Rice-Hudson was issued yellow and red cards for dissention and eventually ejected.
The battle continued through the second half until Banasihan-Kenney found the net on an indirect kick, the ball clipping a Warrior defender before Banasihan-Kenney sealed the score in the 56th minute.
That score was costly for Waimea as Joshua’s red card was followed by Kosen’s ejection, and a late-game yellow going to Kapa‘a’s Brad Heiser for taunting in another close-quarter skirmish at the Menehune goalmouth.
With the minutes ticking down, Waimea sustained its final loss when Acoba went down on a play fronting the goalmouth, triggering stop play and eventually a replacement goalkeeper when Acoba was helped off the field by Adam Acain and Kaimanu McConnell.
The KIF boys season wraps up Saturday when Island School travels to the New Kapa‘a Town Park stadium for a 10 a.m. encounter against the undefeated Warrior varsity.
The Menehune wrap up their season against Kaua‘i with the JV match kicking off at 1:30 p.m., followed by the varsity squads meeting at 3:30 p.m.
The JN Automotive Group Boys Div. I and II Hawai‘i High School Athletic Association State Soccer Championships will take place Feb. 23-26 at the Waipio Peninsula Soccer Complex with the KIF getting one Div. II berth.
