Kapa‘a swept the KIF opener Saturday as the Warrior men blanked Waimea 10-0 before the Warrior wahine broke open a 0-0 halftime stalemate en route to a 2-0 win. In the JV games, the Warrior boys chipped out a 3-2
Kapa‘a swept the KIF opener Saturday as the Warrior men blanked Waimea 10-0 before the Warrior wahine broke open a 0-0 halftime stalemate en route to a 2-0 win. In the JV games, the Warrior boys chipped out a 3-2 win and the Kapa‘a JV girls finished with a 10-1 win.
Keryn Pond, amidst a sea of bodies at the Waimea goalmouth, dribbled in a goal on the third effort that started with a corner kick.
That goal, coming about five minutes into the second half, combined with a Waimea goalkeeper error to give the Kapa‘a girls their 2-0 edge over Waimea.
Menehune goalkeeper Karmn Rivel, nursing a battered body from the first half, scooped up the ball and ran it past the goalbox for a handball call to set up the penalty shot in the second half.
Despite a strong effort, Kalia Mayer’s shot rifled to the goal, bouncing out of Rivel’s arms for the score.
The Kapa‘a defense, sparked by the strong kicks of Ka‘ala Leong who was moved from her starting forward position, had taken its toll on Waimea and Menehune head coach Dan Agan gave Rivel a chance to recuperate from her batterings by switching off duty to Tori Espino who finished the game without the aid of gloves.
The defensive Kapa‘a switch also kept Menehune forward Keanna Agan empty for most of the second half as the Kapa‘a offense, aided by a solid midfield, including Pond, peppered the Waimea side of the field.
In addition to Rivel’s efforts, Waimea got strong support from its stopper, Josey Jacinto, who made several key saves throughout the game.
Earlier in the day, Ikaika Fuerte led the Kapa‘a boys to a 10-0 shutout over Waimea.
Fuerte, finishing with a hat trick, netted two goals in Kapa‘a’s 6-0 first half, and added a third goal in their 4-point second half.
Ian Lactaotao followed with two goals, getting his first score on a long cross in the first half and heading in a throw-in by Terrence Cuyo in the second half.
Daniel Rodrick, Chance Bukoski and Luis Molina scored for Kapa‘a in the first half. Dylan James and Assig Rupert netted Warrior goals in the second half.
Niimi-Burch leads
Kapa‘a JV sweep
Kapa‘a opened their KIF junior varsity soccer program with a sweep over Waimea Saturday.
Glenn Miguel, Palani Mawae and Cameron Zulevic netted goals as the JV boys eked out a 3-2 win over Waimea who got goals from Cody Nishek and Matt Viescas.
Seri Niimi-Burch finished with a hat trick as the Kapa‘a JV girls soared past Waimea 10-1.
Larissa Crain finished with two goals in the win with Dakota Barnett, Zariani Fernandez, Virginia Taylor, Kaimaile Zirker and Jessica Lactaotao each adding a score.
Chelsea Nawai netted Waimea’s sole goal.
Kapa‘a enjoys a bye this coming Saturday as the Menehune attempt to break into the scorebooks when they visit Kaua‘i High School at Vidinha Stadium.
Junior varsity games start at 10:45 a.m. with the first varsity games scheduled for 1:30 p.m.
• Dennis Fujimoto, photographer and staff writer, can be reached at 245-3681 (ext. 253) or dfujimoto@kauaipubco.com.
