Alyssa Almogela made Waipahu’s first girls soccer championship three times as nice.
Almogela had a hat trick and Jodi Shibata added another goal as the Marauders won the Oahu Interscholastic Association White title with a 4-1 victory over Kalaheo at Kapolei on Friday night. Jahna Tacson and Almogela have scored all but four of Waipahu’s goals this season, and Almogela’s hat trick was her first ever.
"I don’t know, but I think those two have probably been playing since they were 5 years old," Waipahu coach Elaina Paredes said. "They are the captains and will be captains next year; from freshman year they were always varsity caliber players. The strength of our team comes from them as well as our goalie (Kimi Kaniaupoio)."
Almogela’s first goal was effortless, as Tacson worked the ball into the corner, shook off a defender and unleashed the most perfect of passes right in front of the goal. Almogela only had to take a step to allow the ball to bounce off her chest and into the empty net at the 3:30 mark.
Shibata scored 6 minutes later, at 9:47, booming a shot from 40 yards out that sailed over the defense and Kalaheo keeper Nicole Pomare, who moved forward to play the ball.
Almogela got her second goal at 29:52, showing Tacson and Shibata that she had long-range abilities, as well.
Almogela booted a corner kick over the defense and directly into the goal, giving Waipahu a 3-0 lead. Almogela got her hat trick when she caught Kalaheo on the attack, getting free at midfield and dribbling all the way to the goal.
Once she got into the box, it was just a matter of juking Pomare and leaving her in the grass before tapping the ball into the goal for a 4-0 lead.
Both teams move on to the state tournament next week, with Waipahu in line for the bye.
"(Tacson) and everybody kept giving me nice balls," Almogela said. "I was just trying to not mess it up."
Kalaheo (5-5-2) attacked relentlessly in the second half, but it was time for Waipahu’s defense to show its stuff. The Mustangs scored when Kiana Bowman overwhelmed Waipahu keeper Kimi Kaniaupoio at 44:47, but she would not let it happen again. The Mustangs continued to knock on the door, hitting each post on one exchange, but they would never break through again.
The Marauders (8-4) suffered four losses during the regular season, never winning by more than two goals but losing by as many as five. It all turned around when the title was on the line.
"Throughout the whole season, starting in August, our motto has been ‘believe’," Paredes said. "When times get tough and we are playing tough games like Leilehua and Radford and Kapolei and this game, we just really had to believe in each other."
