By MATT GERHART By MATT GERHART ADVERTISING Tribune-Herald sports writer KEAAU — Elijah Lingenfelder’s eyes lighted up Saturday at the prospect of playing at Kamehameha. Makua Lani coach Jared Komo estimates that Paiea Field is a good 20 yards longer
By MATT GERHART
Tribune-Herald sports writer
KEAAU — Elijah Lingenfelder’s eyes lighted up Saturday at the prospect of playing at Kamehameha.
Makua Lani coach Jared Komo estimates that Paiea Field is a good 20 yards longer in both length and width than what the Lions are used to playing on at Old Kona Airport Park.
The bigger dimensions weren’t nearly enough to contain Lingenfelder. The fleet-footed senior spent the better part of the match tilting the field in Makua Lani’s favor.
Lingenfelder tallied a goal and an assist and spearheaded a suffocating effort as the Lions shut out the Warriors 4-0 in a Big Island Interscholastic Federation Division II boys soccer match.
“I thought beforehand that this was going to be better game,” he said. “A huge field and better passing opportunities. It gave me space to take the ball.”
Senior Keawe Alapai netted his second and third goals of the season off corner kicks as the Lions (6-3-1) dominated from the outset, firing the first 12 shots of the match.
Makua Lani came in confident after playing Hilo to a 2-2 draw on Dec. 28, a match that Lingenfelder missed with a bruised left hand.
“We came to play,” Komo said. “That match against Hilo, playing without our leading scorer, showed these kids that they can play with everybody.
“That’s the great thing about the BIIF. There are so many good teams that it makes everybody better.”
Lingenfelder’s hand was still wrapped Saturday, but his feet were just fine.
When he wasn’t possessing the ball and owning both flanks or chasing down throughballs, he was firing rockets —hitting the crossbar with a shot from 33 yards out in the second half.
“This field is noticeably bigger,” Komo said. “Normally he’s marked, but he had a lot of room to run today.”
The pressure created by Lingenfelder helped the Lions garner 12 corner kicks in the match. Alapai took advantage of Makua Lani’s fourth corner kick in the 12th minute, slotting home a cross from Lingenfelder.
In the 23d minute, Lingenfelder ran down a Kalani Alapai throughball and scored on a breakaway for his 13th goal of the season.
Meanwhile, Aidan Alcos, Genesis Marks, Stephen Kilkenny and Pono Ng — among others — put up a wall at midfield that prevented Kamehameha from clearing the ball in the first half.
Makua Lani held a 2-0 lead at halftime behind a 16-1 advantage in shots.
“We probably should have scored about seven today,” Lingenfelder said.
James Whalen corralled a loose ball and found the back of the net from 22 yards out midway through the second half to cap the scoring.
Kamehameha (2-4-1) picked up its play in the second half, taking 10 shots. Maka Kahana got behind Lions goalkeeper Josh Kuperus late in the match but his shot hit the crossbar.
Kuperus made five saves for the shutout.
Warriors goalkeeper Sean Miday did well to keep the Lions to four goals. He made several nifty saves, including stopping Alcos on a breakaway.
Ng added an assist for Makua Lani, which finished with 30 shots.
Hilo 2, Konawaena 2: Senior Justin Shiigi scored his team-high seventh goal of the season in the 74th minute at Julian Yates Field, earning the Vikings a draw after they had fallen behind 2-0 at halftime.
Senior Adryan Vidad had pulled Hilo (5-1-2) within 2-1 midway through the second half.
Gerardo Meneses and Gabriel Magana scored first-half goals for Konawaena (4-3-1).
Hawaii Prep 4, Keaau 2: With less than five minutes remaining, freshman Justin Perry broke a 2-2 tie with his sixth goal of the season, and senior Kepa Police followed with an insurance goal as Ka Makani prevailed at a muddy Shipman Park.
Police, who has a team-high 15 goals this season, has scored in each of HPA’s seven matches.
Perry and Jack Austin gave the Ka Makani (7-0) a 2-0 lead with first-half goals.
Just before intermission, the Cougars’ Christian Agudo rifled a shot that hit the crossbar, and Matt Shimabukuro put in the rebound to cut the lead in half.
Shimabukuro then tied the match for Keaau (2-5-2) midway through the second half, taking a pass from sophomore Spencer Hanza and scoring his team-high ninth goal.
Parker 5, Ka’u 0: Senior Evan Kasberg bagged his fifth and sixth goals of the season, and freshman Skyler Pleuss also scored twice in Waimea for the Bulls.
Senior Tyler McCullough tallied the other goal for Parker, which improved to 3-5-1.
Kasberg has scored in each of Parker’s past four matches.
Freshman goalkeeper Malik Mariano recorded the shutout of the Trojans (2-7).
Waiakea 2, Kealakehe 0: Junior Keoni Yates tallied two second-half goals on the road for the visiting Waveriders, who improved to 7-0.
Yates, who has seven goals this season, has scored in each of Kealakehe’s past four matches.
Freshman Greyson Moore shut out the Warriors (2-8) in goal.
Christian Liberty 9, Kohala 0: The Canefire improved to 7-1 with its victory in Kapaau, while the Cowboys dropped to 0-9. The home team of Kohala did not report further information on this contest.
GIRLS
Konawaena 2, Hilo 0: Senior Ua Ruedy scored her eighth goal of the season in the fourth minute, and sophomore Kaulana Ruedy collected her team-high 11th goal in the 35th at Julian Yates Field as the Wildcats improved to 7-1-1 and remained atop the BIIF Division I standings.
Sophomore Kili Kunitomo and freshman Taiana Tolleson combined to shut out the Vikings (4-2-1) in goal.
Kealakehe 1, Waiakea 0: From a deep puddle in the penalty box, Jade Richmond threaded a pass to Lexi Cuaresma, who scored the match’s lone goal in the 75th minute as the Waveriders improved to 5-0-2.
Kealakehe coach Jim Smith praised goalkeeper Sulley Schuster, who made a handful of saves on a muddy Waiakea field to blank the Warriors (4-6).
“The defense held its own,” Smith said.
Hawaii Prep 5, Keaau 0: Seniors Emily Evans and Rae Kennon, and freshman Marlie Mandaguit all scored their fifth goals of the season at Keaau for Ka Makani (6-0-1).
Sophomores Bri Vallente and Gabbie Ewing also found the back of the net for HPA, which moved into sole possession of first place in the BIIF Division II standings.
Junior goalkeeper Morgan Monahan blanked the Cougars (3-5).
Kamehameha 3, Makua Lani 1: Senior Kera Akiyama collected her 10th goal of the season and two assists in Keaau at the Warriors improved to 5-2.
Junior Sara DuVoisin tallied her second goal and one assist, and freshman JC Kerr scored her first goal.
For the Lions (2-6), senior Tiffany Nakamura scored her 10th goal of the season on a penalty kick.
Kohala 4, Christian Liberty 2: Senior Genevieve Boyle tied the match on a penalty kick just before halftime in Kapaau, and sophomore Riley Uehana put Kohala ahead to stay with a second-half goal as the Cowgirls (1-7) won their first match of the season.
Junior Katy Rix and senior Sharisse Stokes also scored in the second half, making it 4-1 before the Canefire’s Micah DeCleene capped the scoring with the second of her two goals in the match.
Christian Liberty dropped to 0-7.
