Whenever the Hilo and Waiakea girls soccer teams play each other, it’s usually a battle until the end, and Tuesday at Hilo Bayfront was no different.
The Vikings outlasted the Warriors 3-2 in a BIIF showdown that featured back-and-forth scoring between the two teams that have battled each other for Division I supremacy for decades.
Junior forward Chloe Saplan scored two goals, and senior forward Briana-Jean Tanaka had the game-winner for the Vikings (1-1), who last played in a 2-0 loss at Kealakehe last Tuesday.
“It was a good game, and I’m glad we were able to finally get some goals in,” Hilo coach Skee Saplan said. “Usually at this time of the season, we’ve played 10-12 games with preseason. It’s our second game, and we’ve still got things to work on. We’re not jelling yet. Hopefully, this is a good starting point to go forward.”
Senior midfielder Keilee Silva and junior defender Sienna Beasley scored for the Warriors (0-2), who last played in a 2-1 loss to Kamehameha on Dec. 21.
“We had our chances, and 3-2 is pretty close. It’s an unusual year. It’s our second game in 2 1/2 months,” Waiakea coach Steve Petner said. “We did have a COVID protocol so we were out the week before. We’re glad to be playing, and Hilo is a good team.
“We had some really good moments. We moved the ball around. Our keeper (goalie Journey Morimoto) kept us in the game. As a sophomore, she’ll get better and better as the years go on.
“That’s one of our weaknesses, giving up free goals (on the direct kick). If we can be better at that, we’ll be OK.”
Hilo has finished as the BIIF runner-up to Konawaena in 2019 and 2020 while Waiakea has sat home from states since 2017. The Wildcats (0-1) fell to Kealakehe 8-0 on Jan. 3.
It’s a short season and all the Division I teams are in the four-team BIIF playoffs, so everyone is playing for seeding.
The Warriors got on the scoreboard first when Silva headed in a cornerkick with just a minute into the game.
At the 10-minute mark, Saplan took a 20-yard direct kick from 20 yards out, and put in a perfect shot into the upper right corner for a 1-1 tie.
Then six minutes later, Saplan attacked down the left flank and kicked a laser into the far right, low post for a 2-1 lead at halftime.
Midway into the second half, Tanaka raced down the right wing and put a shot in for a 3-1 Viking lead.
Then five minutes later, Beasley had a one-on-one breakaway and scored to cut Hilo’s lead to 3-2.
But for the final 15 minutes, the Vikings played determined, disciplined defense and didn’t allow any good Warrior scoring attacks.
Hilo had a forceful backline powered by freshmen defenders Leilillian Ho’opai Solomon and Lindsey Hiraki, and sophomore Kryslynn Nabarro, the daughter of former Hilo running back Royden Nabarro and the niece of former Waiakea soccer standout JoBette Nabarro.
Nabarro marked Waiakea’s talented freshman striker Kalia Franklin, who noticed that when she switched wing positions from left forward to right forward Navarro never let her out of her sight.
It was a smart, strategic move by Hilo coach Saplan to have Nabarro, a sophomore who can also play midfield and forward, shadow Franklin.
“She had some chances, too,” Petner said. “Kalia is a freshman, so the sky is the limit for her. It’s just about playing together.
“You have to jell, get the right people in the right places. We have very young players and had only two seniors out there. Everybody makes the playoffs, and there are only two teams in Division II so anything can happen.”
Franklin couldn’t shake Nabarro and get a good shot or make a strong run down the sidelines. But with seven minutes left in the first half, Franklin made a nice through-ball pass to a teammate, who kicked the ball straight to the Hilo goalie.
“Kryslynn’s athleticism and willingness to do whatever it takes helped the team a lot,” Saplan said. “We actually have three goalies and a big roster because we have no JV, so we kept as many players as we can. We had Kali’u Boteilho, a returning player, and Teyah Kepoo-DeConte, and the other one (Kuuipo Kalipi) has a concussion. Our defense really played well. Ho’opai Solomon and Hiraki did well holding it up back there.
“We ran into two clusters of COVID early on, but luckily we didn’t miss any games because it was already postponed, but as far as practices we’ve been missing a lot of practices without everybody being there.
“We’re just trying to keep the girls safe, and luckily we’re all healthy right now. COVID will be a big factor as far as who’s healthy for the playoffs and states. We’ve had two postponements, and it’s hard just to scrimmage because if we don’t have it then they might have it. It’s just been hard. But the main thing is everybody is safe.”