LIHU‘E — With the wind aiding at their backs, the Kaua‘i Red Raiders climbed uphill against Kapa‘a, hoping to dethrone the Warriors from their 1-0 late game lead. But just as the Raiders were about to reach the summit, Kapa‘a’s
LIHU‘E — With the wind aiding at their backs, the Kaua‘i Red Raiders climbed uphill against Kapa‘a, hoping to dethrone the Warriors from their 1-0 late game lead. But just as the Raiders were about to reach the summit, Kapa‘a’s Shane Nishioka-Healy knocked them right back down the mountain.
Facing fierce pressure late in the second half, Nishioka-Healy’s diving save in the 79th minute helped preserve the Warriors 1-0 win, Wednesday afternoon at Vidinha Stadium in KIF boys soccer action.
After a Dylan Devin goal in the 17th minute gave Kapa‘a the early lead, the Warriors spent the rest of the game on their heals as the Red Raiders pressured inside the Warrior zone.
Kaua‘i increased the tempo in the dying moments of the game and nearly pulled even when Lucas Gushikuma found the ball in front of the Warrior net. Gushikuma put his right foot to the ball, aiming low and to the left of Nishioka-Healy. But the Kapa‘a keeper got a good view of the shot, dove to his left and swatted the ball away.
“I saw him and the way his body was leaning. I knew he was going to rip it to the left side,” Nishioka-Healy said. “I was nervous but there’s so much adrenaline going through your body that you’re ready for anything.”
Nishioka-Healy said that adrenaline was pumping for much of the second half during the Red Raider onslaught. By the time he made his game-securing save, he wasn’t aware that there was only a minute left in the action. He was busy dealing with the stress of trying to thwart the oncoming Red Raiders.
“I had no idea how close to the end it was,” he said. “There was a lot of pressure but I thrive on that. I like it. It’s what I use.”
Nishioka-Healy’s ability to stop the attack, along with Devin’s clutch first half goal was something that the Warriors didn’t show during their 4-2 loss at the hands of the Waimea Menehune on Saturday. In that game, the Warriors struggled to take advantage of opportunities and were left susceptible to many Waimea counter attacks. Kapa‘a head coach Kevin Cram said the Warriors watched film after Saturday’s loss and were able to implement adjustments on Wednesday.
“We saw areas that we definitely made mistakes,” Cram said of the film. “In the two days of practice we had, they were at least aware of those mistakes. Our biggest improvement was in defensive marking.”
And when the Warriors had their best opportunity to score, unlike on Saturday, they capitalized.
Early in the first half with Kapa‘a pressuring, a Kaua‘i defender mishandled a ball in front of his own net. Red Raider keeper Dylan Snyder rushed out to get the ball, but Devin was able to lob it past the goaltender and into the net.
“Both sides had opportunities, but we took advantage,” Cram said.
On the Kaua‘i side, head coach Mark Brandeburg said he saw a lot to like from the Red Raiders performance, his team just couldn’t get the ball in the net.
“We played a great second half. I thought we were going to tie the game,” said Brandeburg, who left it to the nature of the sport for why his team couldn’t even the score. “It’s soccer.”
In girls action, the Red Raiders returned the favor to the Warriors, with the Raider Wahine shutting out Kapa‘a 5-0, Wednesday night at Vidinha Stadium.
• Tyson Alger, sports writer, can be reached at 245-3681 (ext. 237) or by emailing talger@ thegardenisland.com. Follow him on twitter.com/tysonalger.
