LIHUE — With the season starting to wind down, the Warrior boys put a little distance between themselves and the others on the standings.
Kapaa High School’s varsity boys soccer team defeated Island School, 1-nil, Saturday afternoon at Vidinha Stadium.
“It was a battle, and we expected it would be,” said Kapaa head coach Kevin Cram. “The fact that Island is this close to winning a championship, which they haven’t done yet, we knew they were going to come out and want to win it. In order for us to match up and play as well, we had to up our game also.”
Kapaa (5-2-1 KIF) scored the match’s only goal at the 52nd minute.
Warriors junior forward Ryno Banasihan had the ball inside the 18-yard box and tapped in the ball to the net with Voyagers freshman goalkeeper Kaimana Moraes out of position.
“My teammate just made a great pass — right on the sweet spot. So, I was able to hit it in,” Banasihan said.
He said about the season’s end just a few matches away: “It’s still anybody’s game right now. I think we just got to work our butts off for the next few weeks.”
At the 59th minute, Warriors sophomore forward Jacob Espi had a shot on goal in the penalty area, but Moraes this time was able to make the save.
“The first half, because of the breeze blowing across the field, the ball was coming at us a lot more. So, we played a heavier defensive formation,” he said. “The second half, we knew we needed a goal. So, we switched back and put more attackers up front, which allowed them to continue to attack but gave us more opportunities.”
Island School (4-4 KIF) had several chances down the stretch at an equalizing goal.
Voyagers senior midfielder Emi De La Mora played the ball toward the goal from well-outside the penalty area. Senior forward Brandon Beydoun met the ball and took a header toward goal.
Beydoun’s shot went off the post at the 70th minute.
Voyagers senior midfielder Max Jordan had a shot on goal in the last few minutes, but his ball was saved by Warriors junior goalie Chyson Lagunes-Rapozo.
“The boys were coming off two wins. Maintaining that energy level of play is sometimes a challenge mentally and physically,” said Island head coach Sean Magoun. “We had our opportunities, and we didn’t capitalize on them. We had beautiful set piece on a corner kick, and Chyson made a great save. We didn’t follow the rebound, and we should have.
“There were opportunities there. Brandon hit the post. What more can you do there? You got to keep knocking,” he continued. “The difference here is that the boys have got to have the resolve to keep knocking for 80 minutes. You got to keep going and keep going, not for 10 minutes here and 10 minutes there. That’s the difference.”
Had Island School won Saturday’s match, it would have passed over Kapaa on the season standings.
“Four matches is still a lot of soccer. It’s all on Kapaa. If they don’t win out, it’s still any man’s race,” Magoun said. “There’s a lot of good soccer to be played on both sides. … If they don’t win against Waimea, we’re back to square one. Waimea will, I think, move closer to Kapaa. If we win against Kauai High, we’ll be in the hunt as well. There’s a lot of soccer left. It’s not over.”
De La Mora and Island School freshman defender Kyle Foss were both issued a yellow card. Kapaa defenders Kiran Costa and
Jordan Belmodis were also each issued a yellow card in Saturday’s match.
Kapaa will host Waimea High School on Wednesday at Vidinha Stadium. The varsity girls match will begin 5 p.m., and the varsity boys match will begin 7 p.m.
Island School will play against Kauai High at Tuesday at Vidinha Stadium. The varsity girls match will start 5 p.m., and the varsity boys will play 7 p.m.
Saturday’s results
Varsity boys: Kapaa 1, Island 0; Kapaa goal scorer: Ryno Banasihan; Discipline: Emi De La Mora, Island, yellow (dissent); Kyle Foss, Island, yellow (unsporting behavior); Kiran Costa, Kapaa, yellow (unsporting behavior); Jordan Belmodis, Kapaa, yellow (unsporting behavior).
Varsity girls: Kapaa 8, Island 1; Kapaa goal scorers: April Barnes 4, Brianna Binder 3, Talia Washington; Island goal scorer: Sophia Sherrer.
Varsity boys: Waimea 4, Kauai 3; Waimea goal scorers: Kody Gardner 2, Nicholas Semblante, Kody Tanaka-Lehano; Kauai goal scorers: Dodger Middlebrook 2, Gabriel Cayetano; Discipline: Ian Malabe, Waimea, yellow (persistent infringements); River Owen, Waimea, yellow (persistent infringements); Braven De Costa, Kauai, yellow (persistent infringements); Kaimana Bessert, Kauai, yellow (persistent infringements).
Varsity girls: Kauai 12, Waimea 0: Kauai goal scorers: Kehela Ventura 5, Lindsey Nakea-Tresler 2, Cienna Caires, Chassidy Cantorna, Kui Kanahele, Sonoi Kawakami, Mia Takekuma.
