LIHUE — Kauai’s Eric Benitez came up the rightside in a cluster of redshirts Saturday afternoon at Vidinha Stadium. This was not the first time Kauai High School had attempted a score against the visiting Mililani Trojans. But on this
LIHUE — Kauai’s Eric Benitez came up the rightside in a cluster of redshirts Saturday afternoon at Vidinha Stadium.
This was not the first time Kauai High School had attempted a score against the visiting Mililani Trojans. But on this trip thattook place in the 29th minute, Benitez was in a crowd of Red Raiders and took his shot which got past the Trojangoalkeeper.
That shot was the margin of victory as the Red Raider boys banded together to keep the Trojans from successfully findingthe net.
During the second half, Mililani’s Kawika Zarko nailed a cross into the folds, but the score was disallowed. The Trojans werepersistent, and in the final minutes, Trojan forwards plagued the goalmouth like mosquitoes. The Kauai defense held topreserve the 1-0 win as the sun began its descent behind the Hoary Head mountain range.
“The boys began adjusting early,” said Kauai coach Mark Brandeburg. “By the second half, they had already adjusted to thefast-paced game. And, they were talking. I’ve been trying to tell them that for years — you need to talk. I’m happy they heldtheir structure, and talked.”
The Kauai win gives Mililani Trojans a 1-2-1 record during the four games they played within a 24-hour period, endingSaturday evening at Vidinha Stadium.
“We tried doing a 4-game day about 10 years ago” said Mililani coach Steven McGehee. “That didn’t work out too well. Thistime, we took advantage of a break.”
Friday afternoon, the Island School Voyagers took a 2-1 win over Mililani before the Trojans came back for 2-0 win overKapaa.
Saturday morning, the Trojans battled the Waimea Menehune to a 1-1 deadlock before dropping their final game to the RedRaiders, 1-0.
“The boys played their hearts out,” said Kauai assistant coach Fred Mireku. “They kept their shape and I totally enjoyedwatching the game. It was a physical game, but the boys kept their composure and it was a very good game.”
McGehee said the objective of the Mililani trip to play Kauai schools was team building.
“We have 24 men on the roster,” McGehee said. “Everyone got a chance to play. This is about team building. We try toschedule games with teams we don’t normally face. We’ve been to Kauai before, and we really appreciate the Kauaihospitality in allowing our boys to play.”
McGehee said the upcoming Kauai Interscholastic Federation boys season should be a very competitive one.
“There has been a vast improvement in Kauai soccer,” McGehee said. “There are no standout schools. There is good equityamong all four schools, and barring any unforeseen incidents, the KIF season is going to be competitive.”
