She was arrested on suspicion of first-degree theft, a Class B felony. If convicted, Alcoran faces up to 10 years in jail.

Police Lt. John McCarthy said Alcoran was arrested yesterday morning in Kane'ohe and released pending further investigation.

McCarthy declined to provide specifics about the case.

Repeated phone messages to Alcoran were not returned, and a woman at her residence said Alcoran had no comment.

Alcoran told KHON-TV: "I made a very bad choice. I made a big mistake. I'm really sorry for everything, you know, for all the people I hurt. And I just want to make it good."

AYSO Section Seven (Hawai'i) director Mark Stewart said AYSO has suspended Alcoran from volunteer duties.

"It's hard when someone you worked with and trusted, when they break that trust," Stewart said. "That's what's hard, that's what hurts."

He said Alcoran, who has been with AYSO for the past 15 years, left her seat as Region 113 (Kane'ohe) commissioner last year to become the region's treasurer. All AYSO positions are filled by volunteers.

Alcoran also was the junior varsity girls soccer coach at Castle High School last season.

Stewart said "a couple red flags popped up" alerting AYSO officials to the missing money and the organization ordered an audit.

"We discovered nearly $40,000 was embezzled through that period," he said.

The thefts occurred between June 2, 2003 and Aug. 9, 2004, police said. Alcoran allegedly siphoned money from AYSO accounts and deposited it into her personal and business accounts, police said.

"We spot-checked back to 1997, and as far as we can tell, the rest of the books are clean," Stewart said.

Stewart said the organization handed its findings over to the police about three weeks ago.

AYSO collects a registration fee each season, usually ranging from $55 to $65 per player. The money covers player uniforms, insurance, field maintenance, organizational fees and referee training.

Reid Morikawa, 35, whose son plays on an under-12 team in Kane'ohe Region, was surprised by the arrest.

"I'll know more when I watch the news tonight. I'm still in shock. They talk that AYSO is for the kids," he said.

Morikawa didn't want to name his son, but said he wouldn't pull him out of AYSO.

"That doesn't make any sense," Morikawa said. "Whatever happens, it shouldn't effect the kids in any way; that's what I expect."

Said Stewart: "As bad as this is, the region will go on, the kids will play. It will not affect the kids on the field. It will be seamless; the kids will not see anything that happened.

"If money is stolen, it is the kids' money. We take that very seriously and will pursue it vigorously."