Junior center halfback Ethan Gonsalves scored in the second minute to lift Castle past Kaiser, 1-0, in an OIA East match yesterday at Kaiser.

With the win, Castle (6-0-1) took sole possession of first place in the OIA East, with 19 points. Moanalua (6-0-0) is tied for second with Kaiser (6-1-0) by virtue of points (18). Teams receive three points for a win and one for a tie.

Moanalua, which has played one less game, defeated Roosevelt, 4-0, yesterday.

Junior center halfback Reid Kanda set up Gonsalves with a lofted pass from the right side of the field that passed several Kaiser defenders, giving Gonsalves an open look at the goal.

"I was worried," Kanda said. "I thought I passed it too hard, but Ethan's very fast and he got to the ball. All of the defenders were in there, so I had to split them."

Gonsalves, who was standing inside the 18-yard box, nailed a left-footed shot into the left side of the goal, past Kaiser goalkeeper Scott "Keola" Kamakana, who came out to challenge Kanda's pass.

"It was one of the best passes I've seen him make," said Gonsalves, who added he saw Kamakana come off his line, and placed the shot in the open net.

"I think we surprised Kaiser," Castle coach Sabo Nakamine said. "They took us too lightly in the beginning, and when they started to come back, we were able to hold them off."

Nakamine said to prepare for Kaiser, the Knights worked on their long balls and pressure defense, because "if you let (Kaiser) play, they'll take advantage of you," he said.

"We practiced (Friday) with a lot of pressure for this game, and it worked out," Nakamine said.

The Knights, which dominated the first 10 minutes of the game, applied tough pressure which kept Kaiser on its half of the field for most of the first half.

"We were applying a lot of pressure with our defense, trying to keep them on their heels," Kanda said.

The heavy winds blowing in from makai to mauka also played a large part in the game, with the team on the makai side of the field able to clear the ball more easily.

Castle, which was on the makai side for the first half, played a possession game to counter the effects of yesterday's wind.

"We like to keep the ball on the ground, possess the ball, and not let them get the ball," Kanda said.

Both teams had their chances.

A cross by Castle's Kory Muraoka from the left side of the field was headed just over the crossbar by Michael Mayeda.

Kaiser's best chance came early in the second half, when sophomore forward Jacob Curtis had a one-on-one break but was stopped by the Castle goalkeeper.

"They were prepared," Kaiser coach Herb Schreiner said. "They worked hard and forced us to play chase. An early goal like that can kill you in a game like this."

In other OIA games:

BOYS

Moanalua 4, Roosevelt 0 — Moan: Kenneth Ogata 3, Ben King 1.

Kalaheo 9, McKinley 0 — Kalah: Max Anton 2, Franklin Cuello 2, Tino Smiley 1, Paul Izak 1, Will Cooper 1, Brandon Uehara 1, Sean Tamba 1.

Kaimuki 1, Kailua 1 — Kaim: Jong Kim. Kail: Preston Nakata.

Kalani 5, Kahuku 1 — Kal: Reid Arakaki, Ryan Ching, John Chow, Marco Perez, William Rarick. Kah: Tevita Ofa.

GIRLS

Kalaheo 4, McKinley 1 — Kalah: Tina Garcia 2, Anela Gonzales 1, Fonda Joab 1. McK: Chelsie Sato.

Kailua 5, Kaimuki 0 — Kail: Marisa Yamada 2, Jasmine Alameida 1, Ariel Moniz 1, Tara Imamura 1.

Moanalua 1, Roosevelt 0 — Moan: Stephanie Inouye.

Kahuku 6, Kalani 0 — Kah: Karla Tailele 2, Marina Barbosa 1, Tiana Ahue 1, Kahanu Ah Puck 1, Cassy Young 1.

Castle 5, Kaiser 1 — Cast: Lindsey Watanabe 2, Ashley Kanda 1, Natasha Flores 1, Lovey Walker 1. Kais: Jennifer Ho.

GIRLS JV

Moanalua 2, Roosevelt 1

Kahuku 8, Kalani 0

Castle 2, Kaiser 0

Interscholatic League of Honolulu

GIRLS

Punahou 2, Kamehameha 0 — Pun: Allison Tsuchida, Jennifer Lau.

Iolani 2, St. Francis 0 — Iol: Samantha Teramae, Tiffany Adachi.

Mid-Pacific 2, Pac-Five 1 — MPI: Ashlee Komatsuhara, Janna Adanniya. Pac: Karissa Nee.