Waimea High School’s varsity boys soccer team lost to Roosevelt of the Oahu Interscholastic Association in a consolation game of The Queen’s Medical Center Boys Soccer Championships – Division II state tournament. “It was similar to (Thursday). We possessed and
Waimea High School’s varsity boys soccer team lost to Roosevelt of the Oahu Interscholastic Association in a consolation game of The Queen’s Medical Center Boys Soccer Championships – Division II state tournament.
“It was similar to (Thursday). We possessed and had chance after chance, but it didn’t go our way,” Waimea head coach Kapono Chong-Hanssen said in a phone interview. “But we played better defense, too. So at least that was better.”
The Menehune lost, 1-0 (5-3 PKs) in penalty kicks Friday afternoon at the Waipio Peninsula Soccer Complex on Oahu.
“The Roosevelt goalie, he made some good saves. Overall for a consolation game, it was good. The crowd was entertained. Everyone played sportsmanlike,” Chong-Hanssen said.
The Menehune and Rough Riders went to penalty kicks following two scoreless halves. Junior forward Justin Fune, junior forward Isaiah Duldulao, junior midfielder Carl Mecham, junior defender Chris Ishikawa and sophomore midfielder Kody Gardner were the five lined up to take the kicks.
“I don’t want to single out who missed the PK. Only one of our guys missed the PK. We actually didn’t take our fifth kick,” Chong-Hanssen said. “We made sure we brought him back in the circle. I think he’s still bumming about it. But that was the big thing — to put the group back together and take the weight off his shoulders. We did the best we could to make him feel OK about it. It just plays out that way sometimes.”
Sophomore backup goalkeeper Kaimi Lau San Agustin started between the pipes for the Menehune. Usual starter, senior Noah Alejandro, played right midfielder.
“It was a fun thing. I got to play outside, out of goal, on my last (Kauai Interscholastic Federation) game, too, against Island School,” Alejandro said. “It was good to get out onto the field every once in a while.”
Alejandro added though the team didn’t win a match at states, he still feels proud about the season because of winning the school’s first KIF boys soccer championship since 2006.
“Today’s game, everybody was kind of bummed about (Thursday’s) game. We pulled though and played our hardest, but then sadly the penalty kicks made it,” he said.
Chong-Hanssen added: “After we were competition rounds yesterday, we talked to Noah about letting Kaimi getting some experience at the state tournament. Kaimi, he has a good dive. He has good reach. He just needs experience — honing that skill. And Noah had been suffering with the stomach flu, or something. So, Noah was pretty happy to give Kaimi a chance. … Part of it, of course we wanted to win. But part of it, too, was giving these guys some mintutes — giving some guys opportunities. It was exciting. It was fun.”
Waimea finished its season with a 9-3-2 overall record, going 9-1-2 in the KIF regular season and 0-2 at the state tournament.
On Thursday, the Menehune lost to Kamehameha Schools – Hawaii of the Big Island Interscholastic Federation, 2-1.
“We’re losing some seniors, but I think we’re looking good for next season,” Chong-Hanssen said. “We have a lot of talent in the junior class who’ll be coming up. And there’s sophomores and freshmen who are really skilled, and they’re going to benefit from maturity. Having the experience of going to the state tournament, even for me, you don’t know what to expect until you’ve gone through it. … We’ll just have our fingers crossed hoping that we’ll progress every year.”
Alejandro added: “Honestly, I’ll miss the team. The team is more important than anything else. … The most joy (I’ve gotten), the coaches are more relaxed. Even though if we win or lose, they’re more relaxed and they make sure that we enjoy the game.”
