KEALAKEKUA — The Konawaena girls soccer team is having to do something it has not had to do in a long time — build a team. The blocks are there to put together a solid squad, but the main question is, how long will it take for them to fall into place?
KEALAKEKUA — The Konawaena girls soccer team is having to do something it has not had to do in a long time — build a team. The blocks are there to put together a solid squad, but the main question is, how long will it take for them to fall into place?
The centerpiece of the building process is filling the massive void left by goalkeeper Taiana Tolleson, who is now in front of the net at Vanderbilt. Stepping in to fill the position is freshman Kyanah Blas, who is already drawing comparisons to the former All-BIIF Player of the Year.
“Kyanah is a gem and reminds me of Taiana when she was a freshman,” said Konawaena head coach Guy Miranda. “She has no fear and comes out after the ball with no concern for her own body.”
Blas showed that willingness to put her body at risk in an early preseason game on Oahu. During a match, she was cleated in the stomach, but after doing a quick check for blood, she continued to play on.
“She shows the same craziness that Taiana possessed,” Miranda said. “She has the tenacity to go get the ball. She is big, she is strong, and it is just unbelievable the way she plays. I have total faith in her already.”
Blas is not the only freshman that is making an impact on a very young Wildcat team. She is one of 10 freshman to make the team this year.
One of the other standout freshmen early on this season is Karenza Chavez, who plays on the flanks and up front.
“She is a super good ball handler,” Miranda said. “She also has good speed and I am excited about seeing her develop into a All-BIIF first team player.”
While the youth movement shows promise for the future of the program, Miranda also needs upperclassmen that can teach and lead the new group of young players. For this he turns to a core group of juniors: Nalani Wall, Kaiya Denis and Leina Takizawa.
“These three juniors are the core of the program right now,” Miranda said. “They play well together and they don’t get rattled.”
Wall is a very versatile threat for Konawaena. She can play nearly anywhere on the pitch, but her strength is up front.
“I like to use her as a striker but sometimes I cannot because I have to drop her back since we are so young in the midfield,” Miranda said. “Hopefully, we can get to a point near the end of the season where we can have her up front full time.”
Wall also has a sister, Nanea, who was not a full time starter last year, but has the potential to start this season. Nanea Wall is a sophomore who can also play forward and in the midfield.
“She is like like a utility player, we can put her anywhere,” Miranda said. “We use her at right-back, up front, and on the wing.”
On defense, sophomore Courtney Kikugawa returns this year as a starter, though she missed much of her freshman year due to an illness.
Helping Kikugawa on defense will be freshman Jaymie Kunitomo, who Miranda is excited to see play. She missed a game during the preseason due to a swollen retina after taking a hit against Kaiser in the Guava Bowl.
With so much young talent, it is a good thing that Miranda scheduled such a tough preseason. The team traveled to Oahu where they competed against schools such as Castle and Iolani, and also held the 8th annual Konawaena Wahine Wildcats Soccer Tournament.
Miranda was happy with the progress he saw from the team through the two weeks of games.
“I saw a big change in how we played starting with the third game of the tournament in Oahu,” Miranda said. “With so many freshman, there was kind of a deer in the headlights feel for the first couple of games, but then they started to pick it up and became more confident.”
The Wildcats opened their regular season on Wednesday with a 3-1 loss to Waiakea, but picked up their first league win on Thursday with a 4-0 victory over Keaau.
“I just want us to improve every week and hopefully get up to playoff level by the end of the season,” Miranda said. “We want to challenge for the title.”
As for the new three-tier system the BIIF is playing in this year, Miranda has no concern at all about the change.
“I don’t mind the new system,” he said. “Just let us know our schedule and we are coming.”