Cougars edge Hurricanes to reach OIA D1 quarters

Greg Yamamoto | SL

In an opening slate of matches dominated by the West, Kaiser emerged as the lone East survivor heading to the quarterfinals of the OIA Division I Girls Soccer playoffs, knocking off Kapolei, 1-0.

Alyssa Leong's laser shot over the goalie in the fifth minute of play was the game's first and only goal of the contest.

"Mio (Fujimoto) played a beautiful ball right over the top of last defender and right in front of the goal and I just placed it the corner," said Leong of the score, just the second goal the Cougars have netted in the last five games.

The margin could easily have been two goals, however, as just minutes later, the keeper was caught out of position on a ball that caromed awkwardly, giving a wide open shot to Caitlin Segawa that bounced dangerously off the right post.

Ultimately the game settled, as Kapolei seemed to adjust to the windy conditions, but any real chances on goal were few and far between for the Hurricanes in either half.

The Hurricanes' best opportunity on goal came in the 50th minute, as a through ball was redirected to the left wing to an open shooter, but the shot attempt came off the foot without any pace and skirted harmlessly to the Kaiser keeper.

Much of the action took place in the midfield area, as ball control was at a premium given the winds, and to account for that Kaiser adjusted, shifting Leong from her usual position in the front third, to one more of a midfielder.

"Basically (that was) to hold the middle and to get a higher press in the middle and to get it up the field (more easily)," said Leong of the switch.

Tonight's win over Kapolei was big from the elimination standpoint alone, but with just a 1-2-1 record over the last four contests (after starting the year 5-0-0), getting back on the winning track was also big as a rebound game.

"It was really important because the past few games we had a tie against Moanalua and lost to Kailua and Roosevelt, so coming out with this win really helped push us," remarked Leong, "and now I think we have momentum for the rest of the playoffs."

PEARL CITY 5, ROOSEVELT 0

The Chargers set the tone early in a 5-0 romp of the Rough Riders, getting a pair of goals from Caylie Uyema in the 3rd and 10th minute and another from Kaila Takai in the 35th to establish a three goal margin by halftime.

Pearl City continued to find success offensively coming out of the intermission, breaking through the Roosevelt defense for two more scores, one by Alyssa Bautista in the 49th and another by Soraya Santos in the 50th, to account for the game's final count.