Moanalua ekes past Kaiser to keep pace atop OIA East standings

Brien Ing | SL

Moanalua scored three goals in the second half to help notch a key road win over Kaiser, 3-1, helping Na Menehune keep pace with the Castle Knights at 4-0-1 atop the OIA Eastern Division standings.

After a scoreless first half, Na Menehune finally broke through in the 46th minute, getting the game's first score when a through ball was picked up by Krislyn Uyeda, who deftly pushed the ball past the keeper.

"It really brought our energy up," said Uyeda of the goal. "It helped us to calm down."

Then in the 59th minute, Moanalua broke through again, as Ryah Echavaria received the ball in space just outside the box and lofted a shot the sailed perfectly over the keeper for an insurance goal.

Down the stretch, Kaiser ratcheted up the offensive pressure, which finally paid dividends at around the 78th minute of play, when Roenne Saddington received a pass in space and was able to finish, clipping the margin to a single goal.

Moanalua seemed all but content to run the clock out, but found an opportunity to get back an insurance score on a late set piece and capitalized, as a loose ball in the box was knocked home by Areana Owens to make it a 3-1 contest.

"I had the opportunity to get a pass and get a cross off," said Uyeda of the play. "My teammates are really good at finishing so we were able to get goal."

The victory over the Cougars put Na Menehune back into the win column on the heels of a 1-1 draw to the Knights just days earlier.

"We knew we had to win, we always want to win," remarked Uyeda. "We knew Kaiser wass a tough opponent but we knew we could do it."

Next up for Moanalua is a home game against Kaimuki on Sat, Dec. 17.