Kahuku catches fire against Roosevelt for first win


Greg Yamamoto | SL

MAKIKI – For 39 minutes and 50-something seconds, the girls soccer match played at Ticky Vasconcellos Stadium Wednesday night was scoreless.

Then in the blink of an eye, visiting Kahuku was up 1-0.

That lead quickly doubled shortly after play resumed in the second half.

The Red Raiders scored in the seconds before and after halftime to run past Roosevelt, 4-1, to earn their first win of the season in OIA East play.

Sophomore Naomi Saenz scored the lone first half goal and Ani Hippolite found the back of the net in the 41st minute to give Kahuku (1-0-1) a commanding advantage for the remainder of the match.

Mackenzie Pagador added a pair of goals of her own in the 60th and 66th minute to pad the Red Raiders' lead before Kaia Borje-Peeples' penalty kick in the 69th minute got Roosevelt (0-2) on the board.

"The ladies just gave it their all, fought out there with heart and basically did it on their own," said Kahuku coach Stephanie Galletes. "They executed what we practiced and the results are what it is right now."

The visitors dominated possession as the match progressed, but it was the Rough Riders who controlled the pace early on. Roosevelt had several shots on goal early in the match and even had two corner kicks in the first 10 minutes. The Red Raiders also had to withstand four straight throw-ins by Roosevelt deep in their territory around the 15th minute mark.

Momentum started to swing Kahuku's way midway in the first half when sophomore Nalei Crismon won possession near the Roosevelt sideline and got the ball up ahead into the Rough Riders' side of the field. Crismon also got behind the Roosevelt back line a few minutes later to generate a corner kick opportunity for Kahuku.

"I think they just needed to warm up a little bit, gain their confidence in themselves and each other," said Galletes.

Both teams could not capitalize on any opportunities in the first half until Saenz got loose just before the break. The Kahuku sophomore received a high pass along the far side of the field and got past a defender before pushing her shot into the bottom left corner of the goal.

"She took the high pass and did a few moves around the opponent and took a shot," Galletes said of Saenz's goal. "It set us up for really good momentum into the second half."

Hippolite's goal to start the second half was more of a fortunate bounce. The Kahuku junior used a soft left-footed tap from 35 yards out that was misplayed by Roosevelt's second-half keeper.

"We got a little lucky there," Galletes said. "Again, it was another goal that kept their confidence up and boosted their morale."

Pagador's first goal came after she dribbled the ball up the left hash before firing a shot into the net. Her next goal came off of an assist from Saenz, who saved a ball from going out of bounds near the corner of the field and had a nice feed into the goal area after getting past a defender in a face-up situation.

Saenz, along with Crismon, are part of a group of players that were playing in their first varsity contest with the JV squad temporarily suspended due to players not healthy

"It feels good," said Saenz. "I was really nervous at first because it was my first varsity game, but it's been really fun."

While the Red Raiders had additions to their squad after their season-opener, the Rough Riders were playing shorthanded.

Roosevelt coach Shaina Caporoz said her team only had 12 players suited up with several players either injured, dealing with fevers or were on trips. Among those missing were captain Shayna Padasdao, who plays sweeper, and midfielder Zoe Maikai, who is currently in the US Youth Soccer Olympic Development Program.



Reach Michael Lasquero at [email protected].