PUHI — Menehune senior midfielder Gilroy Pacleb struck from inside the 18-yard box at the 48th minute for the go-ahead goal. With that, Waimea High School’s varsity boys soccer team defeated Island School, 2-1, Saturday morning in Puhi. “I just happened
PUHI — Menehune senior midfielder Gilroy Pacleb struck from inside the 18-yard box at the 48th minute for the go-ahead goal.
With that, Waimea High School’s varsity boys soccer team defeated Island School, 2-1, Saturday morning in Puhi.
“I just happened to be in the right place. It was a nice cross from (sophomore midfielder Carl Mecham), nice assistance. I just saw the opportunity and I took it,” Pacleb said about his game-winning goal. “It’s a great feeling. I’m excited.”
With the win, Waimea (3-0-1 KIF, 10 points) stays on top of the Kauai Interscholastic Federation season standings.
“We’re not reading too much into it. It’s just one round,” said Waimea head coach Kapono Chong-Hanssen about being in the top spot. “It’s been a long time since Waimea’s been in first place, but it doesn’t really mean anything to me at this point. It’s early in the season.
“Each coach, I assume, is going to be doing what I’m doing — evaluating how we played, how the other teams played and figure out how to win the next game,” he added.
Waimea sophomore forward Isaiah Duldulao took a shot from about 20 yards out. The ball hit the bottom of the crossbar and crossed the goal line for the game’s first goal at the 13th minute.
Voyagers sophomore winger Niklas Hirsch scored an equalizer at the 45th minute, also from inside the box.
“(Freshman stopper Ryan Yavinsky) was passing the ball to me. I had the chance to shoot,” he said. “I think we had a lot of effort in this game. We really tried our best.”
Although Island School (0-4-0 KIF, 0 points) came up short in the game, Voyagers head coach Sean Magoun said he’s pleased with his players’ performances considering he had a short bench to work with.
“We’re very proud of the kids and the spirit they played with. They played with a lot of grit today,” Magoun said. “We’re nursing some injuries at this point of the season, so we had to draw on guys who normally may not get the nod. But we’re proud of their performance overall as a unit.”
A few minutes into the start of the second half, Waimea junior goalie Noah Alejandro suffered a head injury. Junior defensive back Devon Hartsell filled in for Alejandro the rest of the game.
“Tough setback today losing our starting goalkeeper. It’s pretty likely he’s going to be out for a while,” Chong-
Hanssen said about Alejandro. “I’m pretty much 100 percent certain he has a concussion. He’s going to, at least, go through the concussion protocol. It hardly ever gets done before a Wednesday. It usually takes at least a week.
“We got some work to do with our other backups and move some people around to get solid again,” he added.
The Waimea boys will play Kapaa at 7 p.m. Wednesday at Vidinha Stadium. Island School will host Kauai at 4 p.m. Wednesday.
Varsity girls: Island School 2, Waimea 0
Following the varsity boys game, Island School’s varsity girls team picked up a 2-0 home win against Waimea.
Freshman striker Brianna Binder scored first at the 18th minute from inside the box.
At the 47th minute, Junior center midfielder Brianna Griep shot a cross from the nearside of the field. Her cross curved and found its way to the net for her team’s second goal.
“It was basically whatever was going to work out, honestly,” Griep said about her goal. “Luckily enough, I got it in. It was pretty accomplishing. I was pretty proud of it.”
Island School head coach Colby Ayonon said he wanted his team to play more organized this time around. The Voyager girls lost to Kapaa, 5-0, on Wednesday.
He added he’s glad his team pulled out a win considering it was without two of its leaders because of injuries — senior striker Madison Moore and junior midfielder Jade Murphy.
“2-0 is good, but we’re more stoked about getting a shutout,” Ayonon said. “That’s what our focus has been on this week following our last game. We’re trying to get shutouts and really small goal deficits.”
Waimea senior center foward Caitlyn Owen had a shot on goal at the 59th minute, but Island School freshman keeper Emma Kelekoma made the save. The Menehune had a free kick opportunity at the 71st minute, but nothing came of it.
“We got the ball up and got it into scoring positions, but we didn’t finish,” said Waimea head coach William Trugillo. “What we try to get into the girls is that they got to play with fire … They show flashes, but by then it’s either too late or too short of a splash to make (anything come of it).”
In the final minute of play, Waimea junior midfielder Julia Hirano drew a red card for violent conduct. The game official said she threw the ball at an opposing player.
“She was frustrated by the way she was treated. But if you ask both teams, they know Julia is not a mean-spirited player,” Trugillo said about Hirano. “It’s a control thing, as well as teammates supporting. They got to be able to help each other out.”
Island School (2-3-1 KIF, 7 points) will play Kauai at home on 2 p.m. Wednesday. Waimea (0-6-0 KIF, 0 points) will play Kapaa at 7 p.m. Wednesday at Vidinha Stadium.
