Five members of Kauai High School’s varsity girls soccer team were involved in a car accident Friday on Oahu.
Kauai High School athletic director Keli’i Morgado said no one was seriously hurt but declined to say who was involved.
The accident led to the team’s scheduled semifinals match of the 2018 The Queen’s Medical Center Girls Soccer Championships – Division II state tournament being postponed.
“We had four vans, and one of the vans got T-boned by a driver that ran a red light,” Morgado said Friday. “So, we had some kids who were hurt and taken to the hospital. We made sure everyone was OK. The whole team is really emotional, shaken up.
“I can’t really talk about details about what kids or what kind of condition they’re in other than no one is seriously hurt. There are some minor injuries. … The people in that van and the driver went to the hospital.”
Morgado added the Hawaii High School Athletic Association was “very, very accommodating” and gave the team choices on how to proceed in the tournament.
“They gave us several options. Of course, one was to forfeit, another was to play later tonight, and the other was to play tomorrow and have no D2 champion this year,” Morgado said. “Those were the three options. I left it up to (head coach Auika Metcalfe). They all went to the hospital to check on their teammates. They hugged it out, cried it out. Every one was shaken up, but they decided to just go for it and play tonight.”
The rescheduled match against No. 1 Kamehameha Schools-Hawaii was moved to 7 p.m. Friday at Waipahu High School. The final result was not available by press time.
If Kauai High won, the Red Raiders will have advanced to the Division II championship match and will play Hawaii Prep at 5 p.m. today.
If Kauai lost, the team will play against Kapaa High School in the third-place match at 3 p.m. today.
“We just pray for our Kauai girls,” said Kapaa head coach Mytra McKeague in a phone interview Friday. “Now, it’s not about a Kapaa or Kauai High thing. It’s about Kauai kids and the girls there. We just hope they’re all well and OK.”
Morgado said about Friday night’s match: “It’s going to be very different. It’s going to be a challenge. Not only is it the No. 1 team, but they’re without five members of their team. They have all that emotion to deal with. They’re playing on a turf field at Waipahu. It’s not the Waipio Soccer Complex stadium, which they fought so hard to play in. They’re dealing with a lot of emotional hurdles right now.”
Metcalfe couldn’t be reached for comment Friday.
