Kai awaits decision on national soccer
By Leila Wai
Advertiser Staff Writer
University of Hawai'i soccer player Natasha Kai returned from a second tryout with the U.S. Under-21 National team yesterday, hopeful about the news she will be receiving this week.
U21 National Team coach Chris Petrucelli will be making the final cuts today, and the players who make the team will be notified by e-mail some time this week, Kai said.
"They would actually tell me what I was doing wrong and how to fix it," Natasha Kai said about the camp.
"(Petrucelli) just said I did way better at this camp than last camp," said Kai, the two-time Western Athletic Conference Player of the Year who led the nation with 29 goals last season. Kai's performance at the first camp got her an invitation to the second camp.
Kai, a 2001 graduate of Kahuku High School, said the coaches invited 15 players back from the first camp to join 10 players who already had experience on the U21 National Team. She said she believes the team of about 18 to 20 players will be chosen from among the 25.
Those who make the team will travel to China for an international tournament in mid-March.
"It's a good experience for me, it's the real deal," Kai said. "This camp was way harder. He was harder on us because he wanted to see if we were consistent."
Kai said they worked on a lot of combination plays, and offense-on-defense scrimmaging.
"They would actually tell me what I was doing wrong and how to fix it," she said. "Now I actually know what I'm doing out there."
The tryout was held at the National Training Center in Carson, Calif., from last Monday through yesterday.
Kai, a sophomore forward, missed the beginning of UH's spring training, which began last Wednesday. She will rejoin the team today.
Kai, who was also a member of the Rainbow Wahine softball team, will no longer participate in that sport because of her obligations to the national team.
Reach Leila Wai at lwai@honoluluadvertiser.com or 535-2457.
