Waiakea’s Sabrina Scott was sick, but she wasn’t going to miss this game for the world.
Waiakea’s Sabrina Scott was sick, but she wasn’t going to miss this game for the world.
The Warriors and Konawaena were in a shootout to decide the Big Interscholastic Federation Division I championship, and coach Jason Nakayama saved his senior midfielder for the last penalty kick.
So Scott watched and waited for a chance to kick the Warriors into school history, her singular focus during her final year.
That chance never came. Instead, Scott watched the Wildcats celebrate a threepeat, and Waiakea walked dejectedly to the “good game” line after being denied its elusive first league title.
“We were so close. I thought we should have had it,” Scott said. “All our hard work and sacrifice showed on the field. It was hard to lose in PKs.
“Everybody was heartbroken.”
While Scott didn’t reap the team reward, she did take home an individual honor. She said she was “shocked” when she found out league coaches had voted her BIIF Division I Player of the Year. The award usually goes to a member of the BIIF champion, and Konawaena certainly had no shortage of candidates.
“It was kind of hard to believe at times,” Scott said.
The Wildcats dominated the all-BIIF team: forward Kaulana Ruedy, midfielders Nikki Kunitomo and Mikala Fernandez, fullbacks Jashea Leleiwi, Star Chinen and Asia Morris and goalkeeper Taiana Tolleson. Coach Guy Miranda was named Coach of the Year.
“I thought Taiana probably should have got it,” Miranda said. “But (Scott) was deserving and Waiakea had a fantastic season.”
The Warriors earned their first HHSAA berth since 2010 after grabbing the BIIF regular-season title. Scott said her personal highlight came when she scored on a free kick to lift Waiakea to a 1-0 victory against Konawaena on Jan. 24 in Kealakekua.
Focusing more as a playmaker, Scott scored seven goals her senior year. Forward Starcia-Lee DePonte led Waiakea in scoring and made all-BIIF along with midfielder Tiani Teanio and fullback Tori Teanio. Hilo forward Mehana Sabado-Halpern also was selected.
“I didn’t really focus on scoring (as a senior),” Scott said. “I’d say my strengths were work ethic and leadership. I try to be the voice of the team and try to communicate and help the team if something bad happens. I fully expect my teammates to give 100 percent, too.”
Long before Greg Scott became a BIIF referee, he was coaching his daughter in the American Youth Soccer Association in Puna.
“I am the player I am because of him,” said Sabrina Scott, who started playing soccer – her only sport – when she was 4.
What she is, Nakayama said, is a coach/quarterback on the field, possessing the technical skills to too see and create plays and the desire to follow them through – even if she was sick.
“In the BIIF championship, she had the flu,” Nakayama said. “But just to see her give 100 percent for the team, that meant more than winning.”
Scott started as a freshman at Waiakea at center midfielder, and already was a captain as a sophomore. Nakayama saw no reason to change that when he came on board before Scott’s junior season.
“It’s funny. A few years before I had met her at the Volcano tourney,” Nakayama said. “Just talking to her and listening to her knowledge and passion for the game, I was amazed. I thought to myself: this would be a great kid to coach.
“I am glad I got the honor to coach her. A blessing.”
Scott plans to start her college career at the University of Hawaii at Hilo and has been working with a club team in hopes of playing soccer. She’s interested in studying sports medicine.
“I think my senior year was the best out of my career,” Scott said. “All the girls, we were not just a team but a family. I couldn’t have asked for more.”