KEALAKEKUA – In their first game in nearly two years, the Kealakehe girls’ soccer team needed a few minutes to settle down.
“I think they were just too excited,” said Kealakehe’s head coach John Edwards, coaching his first game for the Waveriders. “The ball was just bouncing all over.”
When the Waveriders finally did settle in against the host Wildcats of Konawaena, the goals came in a hurry. Led by a first-half hat trick from Teysha Ray Spinney-Kuahia, Kealakehe scored five goals in a span of 14 minutes, propelling them to an 8-0 victory on Monday afternoon.
“We settled down in the last 20 minutes of the first half,” said Edwards. “They played how they should have played, how they needed to play.”
In addition to Spinney-Kuahia’s three goals, Naia Garana and Liana Lincoln found the back of the net in the first half, followed by Michelle Gonzalez, Ciara Blaber and Layla Grace after halftime.
Though Konawaena made a late push in the game’s final minutes, Waverider goalie Teyvin Spinney-Kuahia made a pair of clutch saves – including one on a penalty kick – to protect the shutout.
Postponements have already made their impact felt on both teams, with multiple games having already been pushed back, but both the Waveriders (1-0) and Wildcats (0-1) are now able to look forward to moving through their conference calendars. Tentatively, Kealakehe’s next contest is scheduled for next Tuesday, when they’ll host Hilo in a makeup contest, while Konawaena travels to Waiakea Wednesday to take on the Warriors.
“We’re looking forward to trying to have a season,” said Edwards. “I know the seniors especially, are just excited to be here. They haven’t played in two years; it’s awesome.
“We have a lot of work to do. We need to work on a lot of things: endurance, connecting, but we’re getting there… We definitely need to build; we have five games to do that.”
Girls Basketball
HILO 65, KEAAU 7
Ayana Meyer led four scorers in double figures as the Vikings improved to 2-0 in a game that was called after three quarters because of a roof leak at Hilo’s gym.
Keirsten Agonias scored 14 points for the Vikings, Kalea Harris added 12 and Veda Galima had 11.
Charmaine Galamay led the Cougars (0-1) with three points.
