HANAPEPE — Ben Smith netted two second-half goals to lead the Kalaheo Red Bulls to a 4-2 edge over the Lihu‘e 808 Heat, Tuesday night. Smith’s effort pulled Kalaheo from a 2-0 halftime deficit to lock up the title for
HANAPEPE — Ben Smith netted two second-half goals to lead the Kalaheo Red Bulls to a 4-2 edge over the Lihu‘e 808 Heat, Tuesday night.
Smith’s effort pulled Kalaheo from a 2-0 halftime deficit to lock up the title for the American Youth Soccer Organization, Region 940 Under 14 boys championship at the Hanapepe Stadium.
Davin Garma and Tyren Kaneshige each netted goals in the first half to lead the Kalaheo Cruisers to a 2-0 edge over the Hanapepe Air Assault in the Under 12 boys match.
With the win, Kalaheo forces another game against Hanapepe because the Air Assault bettered the Cruisers earlier, said William Trugillo, commissioner for AYSO, Region 940. Both teams have 1-loss records following the Tuesday night match.
The Cruisers claimed the title following a Wednesday night re-match over the Hanapepe Air Assault.
All four teams involved in the Tuesday night matches advance to the Wil Veech tournament starting today at Vidinha Stadium where they will meet their counterparts from AYSO, Region 941. See sidebar for more info.
With no bench to rely on, Lihu‘e took control early in the game, getting the ball to forward Brown who scored on a second touch off a corner kick to break the ice midway about six minutes into the game.
During the first half, Lihu‘e controlled the field, its defense keeping Kalaheo to the midfield. This created the traffic pattern that surrounded Brown who nailed his second goal in heavy traffic at the middle of the goalmouth.
Faced with the 2-0 deficit, Kalaheo exerted itself when Bradley Lumabao fired. That low ball had the distance, but was just a tad high, soaring over the top bar of the goal and going wide left of the football uprights at the end of the half.
Smith exchanged his goalie jersey and following halftime adjustments by coach Tony Garma, Kalaheo relied on Smith’s height and strength in the second half.
Smith opened the half with a score from the rightside after taking a pass off the wing. Kalaheo followed that score on a Lumabao net with less than five minutes remaining in the quarter to tie the game. That score came off a rebound from a corner kick from the leftside.
The halftime adjustments worked to minimize Brown touches with Smith anchoring the midfield for Kalaheo who notched its go-ahead score less than five minutes into the final period.
Zack Lewis, playing the right wing, crossed the ball to Justin Garma whose shot went back to Lewis who crossed it back for the net.
The final shot came with less than five minutes remaining when Kalaheo scored off another corner kick that moved the ball upfield and into the middle. Lihu‘e’s goalie came out to defend on a shot that soared past him and into the net for the championship win.
Davin Garma came charging and his shot on the run went left of the goal eliciting comments from the Kalaheo camp in the stands.
That motivated Davin on his second attempt as he broke the ice on an almost identical play up the middle. Less than three minutes later, Kaneshige, playing defense, planted the ball from the rightside to force the re-match in the Under 12 game.
Both wins are credit to Tony Garma who coached both the Kalaheo Red Bulls and the Kalaheo Cruisers in their respective victories. He had one son, Davin, playing with the Cruisers and another, Justin, playing with the Red Bulls with both boys scoring a goal each.
