It was just a harmless 4-0 preseason loss, but Erick Lemus took time to review the circumstance and lost opportunity surrounding each goal Waiakea’s girls soccer team had just allowed.
If this had occurred during the regular season, those four goals would have felt like four punches to the gut to the 23-year-old coach.
“Me being a goalkeeper, I hate getting scored on,” Lemus said. “I like keeping zeroes on the scoreboard.”
He did a good enough job of that in 2014 for the UH-Hilo men’s team, and since then the 23-year-old California native has shown he can’t stay away from the game as he’s been busy adding to his coaching resume – Vulcans student assistant, Rush club assistant and now also the head man at Waiakea – as he finishes his degree in business administration.
“I had to think about it, I didn’t now if it was time for me yet,” Lemus said. “But the right the people I look up to said I might as well do it.
“It’s sink-or-swim time.”
Waiakea was swimming in stable waters from 2015-17, narrowly missing out on their first BIIF Division I title all three seasons, under Jason Nakayama but last year was different. First-year coach Sage Van Kralingen left the team early in the season, and Gene Okamura – Lemus’ boss with the Vulcans and Rush – finished as coach during a 6-6 season that saw the Warriors lose to Hilo in the BIIF semifinals.
“I’m excited,” said Lemus, who is familiar with the BIIF landscape having assisted with the Kamehameha girls the past two seasons. “I heard the words from what happened last year, and honestly, it doesn’t bother me.
“It’s a different year, and the girls are different people and players. Maybe we can’t shock the world, but we maybe can make some waves later on.”
The Warriors open the season Wednesday at home against Keaau, and not surprisingly considering their coach’s pedigree, they’ll focus on making sure the back line is fortified, featuring a 4-1-3-2 alignment.
The “one” is Jacelyn Cambra, who is tasked with remaining solid in front of the four fullbacks, one of whom is junior Malu Kekuawela, who’s been starting since her freshman year.
Senior Tiani Kow, a co-captain along with Kalena Kekaualua and Cambra, returns at goalkeeper and figures to be well-tutored this season.
Lemus’ assistants include a pair of keepers, UH-Hilo junior Bailey Cahill, a second-team all-PacWest selection this season, as well as Tori Ornela, who plays professionally in Europe and played Division I college soccer at Cal State-Bakersfield.
“The girls know the stuff we’re telling them is coming from people who have experienced the game at a decent level,” Lemus said.
The three midfielders in Waiakea alignment will join the attack, but they’ll also be ready to sag back against the BIIF’s elite, and if there is one striker to watch for this season it figures to be junior Maiya Serrao.
Considering UH-Hilo’s budget constraints relative to the competition, Lemus agreed the Vulcans men’s soccer experience has a way of hardening those around the program and teaching survival skills.
“I always expect the worse, but hope for the best,” Lemus said.
He said the best advice he received as a player also will help him as a coach.
“Always assume you’re the underdog, which kind of works with the program we’re at right now,” Lemus said.
“Because no one expects much of you. You have nothing to lose, so you might as well go for it.”
