The Konawaena girls soccer team left the Castle-Leilehua preseason soccer tournament last weekend without a win, but head coach Guy Miranda isn’t worried just yet. ADVERTISING The Konawaena girls soccer team left the Castle-Leilehua preseason soccer tournament last weekend without
The Konawaena girls soccer team left the Castle-Leilehua preseason soccer tournament last weekend without a win, but head coach Guy Miranda isn’t worried just yet.
“I think we are notorious for being slow starters,” laughed Miranda. “The girls know as long as they finish hard that is what counts.”
The Wildcats have peaked at the right time the past two Big Island Interscholastic Federation seasons, capturing back-to-back Division I titles. Last year, Konawaena knocked off Hilo in penalty kicks to repeat.
The game-clinching PK came off the foot of Division I Player of the Year Anathena Tuppein, who had 17 goals for the Wildcats last season.
Tuppien is gone, along with defensive leader Rayne Izumi-Baltero, but Miranda still has an arsenal of experienced players who have the Wildcats primed for a three-peat.
Among those players are senior striker Kaulana Ruedy and midfield playmaker Chloe Delaney.
“Ana scored a lot of goals for us, but Kaulana Ruedy showed up for us in the big games. She is a real clutch player,” said Miranda. “Chloe Delaney will also be a major part of the team as a playmaker, but she is battling back from a hamstring injury.”
Miranda said returning players Star Chinen, an All-BIIF first-team defender last season, and honorable mention forward Shayli Nakamoto and midfielder Mikala Fernandez also will be key cogs in Konawaena’s system. Junior Alissa Nahale-Blanco will help shore up the defense.
Returning as the sturdy backstop for the Wildcats is goalkeeper Taiana Tolleson, another first-team selection.
Miranda said he came away from the Castle-Leilehua tourney happy with his squad’s performance, despite the results, saying the girls improved every game and adapted to situations on the fly. He was also satisfied with the play of freshmen Kaiya Denis, Leina Takizawa and Nalani Wall, who will give the Wildcats depth this season. The Wildcats lost to host Castle 4-0, then fell to Mililani in a shootout and played to a draw against Maui High.
“The first game the girls had to adjust a little to the field over there. Our passes were not sharp and we just came up a bit short,” said Miranda. “But in our game against Mililani, we really passed and defended well. Considering Mililani is probably towards the top in the OIA, I thought we played a heck of a game, despite losing in the shootout.
“Against Maui High, we possessed the ball, dominated play and I think we hit every inch of that post and just could not put it in.”
The Wildcats will look to build on that success at the annual Wahine Wildcats preseason Tournament this weekend. Honokaa, Kamehameha-Hawaii and East-Pac join Konawaena as BIIF representatives, while Castle, Baldwin and Kaiser are the outer-island teams participating in the preseason action.
The highlight of the tournament is always the Guava Bowl between Kaiser and Konawaena. This year marks the fifth edition of the game, and while the Wildcats have won the last two, Miranda knows the Cougars won’t make it easy to take home a third consecutive victory.
“It’s a huge rivalry,” said Miranda. “No one wants to be the loser in that one. Whoever wins gets the perpetual trophy, then they take it home and engrave their name on it.”
The Wildcats are dealing with some injuries, and also will be without Tolleson, who will be playing in California in a college showcase tournament. But Miranda believes playing a tough slate of preseason games in adverse situations prepares his team for the latter parts of the season when the stakes are high.
“It’s important. I don’t worry about injuries or anything like that,” said Miranda. “I like to get them in tournament situations early so if we make playoffs and states, we already are comfortable in those type of situations — playing games day after day in tough situations against teams from Oahu and Maui.”
His wahine Wildcats enter the season with a clear target on their backs as the two-time defending champions, but Miranda doesn’t think that changes much.
“There is not that huge pressure to win,” said Miranda. “They all know they have to take it one game at the time and keep working on execution. If they do that, everything will fall into place at the end of the year.”
