Heat, humidity, Hashimoto help Honolulu Bulls prevail
| • | Soccer results |
By Baxter Cepeda
Advertiser Staff Writer
Duke Hashimoto and the Honolulu Soccer Club Bulls' under-18 boys team feel right at home playing in the Snickers U.S. Youth Soccer Association Far West Regionals.
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Hashimoto scored two goals yesterday and the Bulls capitalized on Sparta Premier's struggles with Hawai'i's heat and humidity for a 3-2 win at Waipi'o Peninsula Soccer Park.
Cal-South's Tasia Duarte, left, tries to dribble past Alaska's Hilary Rea in an under-18 girls match. Cal-South won, 1-0.
"One of my friends on the Utah team was saying that the heat was getting to him," said Hashimoto, who made it a 3-1 lead in the 87th minute with a shot to the left side of the goal from 15 yards
"I just brought it down and volleyed it in," said Hashimoto, the 2002 state player of the year from Iolani School.
Utah's Kyle Christensen scored first in the third minute off a free kick from the top of the penalty box.
Christensen's shot bent left-to-right around the Bulls' line and into the bottom-left corner of the goal.
"I just happened to hit it right," Christensen said.
Hashimoto scored in the 23rd minute off an assist from Satoshi Mitsuda, who penetrated into an area down the left side and made a short pass under the outstretched hands of the Utah goalkeeper.
The ball went to Hashimoto, who tapped it into an open goal to tie the score at 1.
"It was pretty easy," Hashimoto said. "Sato got the goalkeeper to commit."
Brandon Tario gave the Bulls a 2-1 lead in the 36th minute. He received the ball around the penalty mark, created space with a spin move and kicked it into the lower-left corner of the goal.
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"I didn't know how many guys were on me," Tario said. "I was thinking about hitting it the first time, but I didn't want to mess up. I just turned, saw the goal and shot it."
An Alaska player, left, tries to control the ball against a Cal-South player in an under-18 girls match at the Snickers U.S. Youth Soccer Association Far West Regionals at Waipi'o Soccer Park.
Justin Baker scored Utah's second goal in the 93rd minute.
"It was a tough game," Bulls goalkeeper David Semenza said. "They came out firing. We played well defensively."
Semenza added that as long as the Bulls mark their opponents man on man, they will do well.
The Bulls, who played Cal- North representative Marin United to a 2-2 tie Monday, face the Gold Strikers of Alaska today in the final day of preliminary matches.
Sparta Premier and the Alaska Gold Strikers tied 1-1 Monday.
The top two teams in each pool advance to the quarterfinals. Some third-place teams will advance as well.
The Bulls' under-18 boys are one of 19 Hawai'i Youth Soccer Association teams attempting to become the first from the state to win a Region IV championship and advance to nationals. The Bulls are arguably Hawai'i's best bet to do so.
"They are an awesome team," Christensen said. "They're amazingly fast and they work hard."
Christensen added that although his team could have played harder in the second half, home field is an advantage.
"When it was at Utah last year it helped us," he said. "We did a little better than this year but I don't think it affects that much. They are just a good team and we didn't play as good."
Bulls captain Richie Higa said that although Utah players train at high altitude, he noticed they were tiring because of the heat.
"The altitude might help them but they are down at sea level now," Higa said. "We don't have to travel ... (and) we have the heat and humidity on our side.
"We did what we were supposed to do," Higa added. "But we didn't play our best game yet."
