LIHUE — The sun went away, rain poured down and winds picked up right at halftime, but it didn’t stop the Menehune from finding the net. Waimea High School’s varsity boys soccer team scored two goals in the second half
LIHUE — The sun went away, rain poured down and winds picked up right at halftime, but it didn’t stop the Menehune from finding the net.
Waimea High School’s varsity boys soccer team scored two goals in the second half en route to defeating Kauai High, 3-nil, in the Kauai Interscholastic Federation season opener Saturday at Vidinha Stadium.
“The boys, they put in a good effort,” said Menehune head coach Kapono Chong-Hanssen. “We were missing some key guys on our team, but these young guys playing, they really stepped it up. I was really happy with what they did today.”
Menehune freshman forward Shayden Duldlao and junior midfielder Eli Nishihira scored in the latter half of the match.
Duldlao scored at the 49th minute from inside the penalty area. Nishihira scored off a corner kick at the 71st minute. Sophomore midfielder Kody Gardner served the corner kick.
“I think we all just worked well together. You can see, when you watch these guys, they’re excited for their teammates,” Chong-Hanssen said. “The guys that didn’t get much playing time, they get in and they just worked for each other. The young boys, a freshman and a sophomore, were both playing key roles, and they played like they’re upperclassmen.
“And our senior leadership is just sort of stable,” he added. “They lend stability to the young guys. When you have that set, it’s easier for the younger guys to step up. They don’t have to overextend themselves.”
Waimea junior defender Cody Taniguchi headed in the match’s first goal at the 39th minute, also off a corner kick.
“I think we won the 50-50 ball battle. The ball was just in our half (of the field) more often, and we had the lion’s share of the opportunities,” Chong-Hanssen said.
“We’ve been underdogs for so long. I just don’t want this to go (to their heads),” he said. “In some ways, it’s good to start off winning 3-0, but you don’t want them to get ahead of themselves, especially when you got young guys on the team. But I think the seniors won’t let that happen. … You can’t take any game for granted. The KIF is going to be tight this year.”
The Red Raiders had a chance for an equalizer right before halftime. Freshman midfielder Dodger Middlebrook served a corner kick, but nothing came of it.
Kauai High head coach Mark Brandeburg declined to comment following Saturday’s game.
Red Raiders senior forward Eric Benitez and Menehune sophomore midfielder Kustom Wise each drew yellow cards for unsporting behavior. Benitez was penalized at the 19th minute and Wise was carded at the 77th minute.
Waimea (1-0 KIF) will next play Kapaa at Vidinha Stadium on Jan. 6 at 5 p.m. Kauai (0-1 KIF) will play at Island School on Jan. 5 at 4 p.m.
