Hawai'i assists on Colorado's goal to be here

Advertiser Staff

With eight Hawai'i players on his team, Colorado coach Bob Armstrong has a catchy name for his under-19 boys team that is participating in the Snickers U.S. Youth Soccer Association Far West Regionals.

"I call it a hapa-Hawai'i team," said Armstrong of his wild-card Colorado Storm Royal team. "They're just all mixed."

While it's not uncommon to have out-of-state players on under-19 teams, the Colorado Storm Royal team is believed to have the most Hawai'i players in recent memory, Armstrong said.

Armstrong, a former Hawai'i youth soccer and Punahou junior varsity coach, said he turned to his former Hawai'i players to round out his 12-player roster after he had difficulty organizing a team of Colorado players because many of them were busy with schooling or had other commitments.

"There's eight Hawai'i boys and four Colorado boys," Armstrong said. "So it's kind of unheard of, especially for the regionals. It can only happen in the (under-19) age group because you're just pulling the players together."

Armstrong said the Hawai'i Youth Soccer Organization (HYSA) allowed the Hawai'i players to compete with Colorado until Aug. 1.

The Hawai'i players are: Anthony Ornellas (Kalaheo 2001), Dylan Yamashita (Damien 2001), Daryl Tangonan (Castle 2001), Blaine Fujimoto (Castle 2001), Chris Chandler (Punahou 2001), Brian Bollinger (Seabury Hall 2002), Kauila Rivera (Seabury Hall 2002) and Justin Green (Kekaulike 2002).

Colorado Storm Royal qualified for the tournament by finishing second to Colorado Rush Nike at the Colorado state finals. Both teams are competing in the regionals.

Colorado Storm Royal lost to the ISC Strikers (California-South), 6-0, yesterday and was eliminated from the tournament after finishing 0-3.