PUHI — Voyagers senior forward Brandon Beydoun netted the game-winner as Island School defeated Kapaa, 2-1, Tuesday afternoon at home.
“It was my first goal of the season. I missed one that was kind of easy, so it felt good (to score that one),” Beydoun said. “The boys were really happy about it, and I was stoked, too.”
Beydoun’s goal was scored at the 68th minute from inside the penalty area. He took a couple of touches before slotting the ball in the goal past Warriors goalkeeper, junior Chyson Lagunes-Rapozo.
“It’s all just a split-second decision,” Beydoun said. “It was slippery out there, too. So, I kind of just put it away this time.”
Island School (1-1 KIF) had a plethora of scoring chances in the first half. Though most missed, the Voyagers did go into halftime with a 1-nil lead.
Voyagers senior midfielder Emi De La Mora blasted a shot from distance to put the ball to the net.
“The offense is going to need continued practice at honing their skills and finding the net. The more we shoot, the more we hone those skills,” said Island School head coach Sean Magoun. “It’s not something to be frustrated about. Just nod the head and keep acknowledging that you need more takes. At some point, we have to reflect on how to be smarter about shooting. But just like any skill, you got to refine it.”
Magoun added about Beydoun’s game-winning goal: “He looked for the shot. He found it, and he got good with that shot and scored. That’s what you want to do. As an athlete, you keep knocking at the door. You try this and try that. They were giving it to him. He took it and buried it, and that was it.”
Kapaa (1-1 KIF) scored an equalizer a minute into the second half off a free kick.
Warriors senior forward Gabe Franklin took the shot from well outside the penalty area and put it past Voyagers starting goalie, freshman Kaimana Moraes.
In the season opener Saturday, Franklin scored three goals in a 3-1 win over Kauai High.
“Any player that can consistently hit the ball and place it like he’s done in the free kick on Saturday and today, you know their technical abilities are better,” said Kapaa head coach Kevin Cram. “Sometimes, you get a player that will strike it well, but you don’t see that same thing happen again. Gabe’s proved it twice in a row. That’s a positive sign.”
The Warriors offense picked up after Franklin’s score. Warriors sophomore midfielder La’ake Gonsalves had a shot on goal at the 57th minute from outside the penalty area, but Voyagers goalie, Kieren Mitchell, met the ball for the save.
In the first half, scoring chances for Kapaa were few.
“They were in our defensive half of the field the majority of the first half,” Cram said. “I’m not sure whether it was the speed of play that they just weren’t prepared for. It might be my fault for not preparing for a faster game. But once they kind of got it figured out in the second half, we saw improvement.”
Island next plays Kauai High School (0-1 KIF) at 10 a.m. Saturday at Vidinha Stadium. Kapaa will play Waimea (1-0 KIF) at 1:30 p.m. Saturday at Hanapepe Stadium.
Scoring summary
Island: Emi De La Mora (29’), Brandon Beydoun (68’)
Kapaa: Gabe Franklin (41’)
