UH soccer may get ex-Iolani star

By Dennis Anderson
Advertiser Staff Writer

Chelsea Akimoto was so good in her first year of college soccer that she was chosen Player of the Year in her conference, but homesickness got the better of her and she may walk on at the University of Hawai'i this fall.

"Her distribution and composure came across to other coaches," Notre Dame coach Joe Silveira said. "She was very tough to get off the ball and she read the game very well."

Those coaches selected Akimoto as Player of the Year in the California-Pacific Conference. She also was selected on the NAIA regional all-star team and as Notre Dame's Most Valuable Player.

But "she missed Hawai'i a whole lot; she was very homesick," Silveira said.

Akimoto said, "It is a small school (enrollment 1,742) and it's cold. (Belmont is 24 miles south of San Francisco and noted for chill winds in certain months.)

"I want to continue playing," she said. "I've applied to transfer to UH."

MEN'S SOCCER

• Gonzaga/Seattle Sounders

June 8-15 was an unforgettable eight days for Zach Scott (Maui '98, of Ha'iku). On June 8, he scored his first professional goal in the 90th minute to give Seattle a 3-2 victory over Calgary. Seven days later he married his high-school sweetheart, Alana Cook, in Kihei. Their honeymoon was shortened so Scott could get back to his team.

Seattle's other Hawai'i/Gonzaga player, Brian Ching (Kamehameha '96, of Hale'iwa), was picked on the United Soccer League's Team of the Week on June 17. Ching scored three goals during a two-game road trip to the Midwest, and "11 shots rocketed off Ching's foot" in the two games, the league said.

The Sounders lead the USL A Division with a 10-2 record.

• Notre Dame de Namur (Calif.)

Notre Dame might lose its best men's player from Hawai'i, too. Freshman Nathan Silva (Kamehameha '01) played attacking midfielder and forward behind 10 seniors and seven juniors, coach Joe Silveira said, and "we're not sure if he will return."

Luke Nakamoto (St. Anthony '01) was a reserve at outside defender and midfield.

SCHOLAR-ATHLETES

• Army

Senior outfielder Melissa Parrish (Moanalua '98, of Kane'ohe) became the first Army softball player to be named to the Verizon Academic All-District I team with her selection to the second team by the College Sports Information Directors of America (CoSIDA).

Parrish graduated June 1 with a 3.77 grade point average as an art, philosophy and literature major. She was commissioned in the Quartermaster Corps and is attending Officers' Basic Course in Ft. Lee, Va., prior to her first active-duty assignment, with the First Armored Division in Germany.

Parrish, a former Rhodes Scholar candidate, was a Patriot League Scholar-Athlete every year during her four years as a starting outfielder for Army.

On Army's career lists, she ranks second in games played (174) and bases on balls (52), third in runs scored (82) and at-bats (469), eighth in hits (110), tied for eighth in doubles (16) and 10th in total bases (130).

• Willamette/Lewis & Clark (Ore.)

In college rowing, you can not see where you are going. Unlike Hawaiian canoe paddling, the rowers face the back of the boat.

But sophomore rowers Lisa Williams (Seabury Hall '00, of Kihei) at Lewis & Clark and Rayna Saeki (Lutheran '00, of Kaimuki) at Willamette know exactly where they are going. Both are psychology majors and they were among 45 NCAA Division III rowers designated National Scholar Athletes by the Collegiate Rowing Coaches Association. Saeki's GPA is 3.65; Williams' is over 3.5.

Willamette won seven of the 45 national awards for Division III.

• Missouri Valley

Xavier Sequeira (Mililani '01) earned straight A's (4.0) in both the fall and spring semesters. His prospects are bright on the football field, too.

Sequeira was moved from linebacker to fullback in spring practice, and "he will be in the mix for a starting job," said new coach Paul Troth, who replaced retired Dan Stanley.