Struendel’s goal lifts Kahuku over Castle

Castle lost track of Kahuku’s Flo Struendel once last night, but it was enough to hand Kahuku its first OIA title since 2008.

Struendel scored in the 29th minute and Kahuku earned its first OIA White Division boys soccer championship with a 1-0 win over Castle on Saturday night at Kapolei.

Struendel played three positions in the first half, trying to find a mismatch and elude a hard mark.

"I just came in and they didn’t know about it, or didn’t see it," Struendal said. "I think I surprised the opponents."

After taking a short breather on the bench, Struendel returned to the game and left a Castle defender in the dust the first time he touched the ball, blasting a crooked shot past Castle keeper Reyn Muraoka for the only score of the first half. Castle was caught a little off guard with the tactic, which resulted in the only goal of the game.

"I honestly didn’t even see it," Castle coach Marc Lachance said. "I was subbing, looked away, looked back and they were celebrating. I think it was a little bit of miscommunication between our halfback and our fullback. He’s a very talented player, he did a good job."

The number on the scoreboard seemed to awaken the Red Raiders, who pressured the Knights until the break. Struendel had the best shots, dribbling past three Castle defenders in succession in the box but missing his attempt wide. He got another shot a minute later, guiding a perfect attempt just under the crossbar that Muraoka got a knuckle on and flicked over the goal.

Castle played only three seniors and went into the second half with a sense of urgency, making Kahuku keeper Wesley Piena and the Red Raiders’ defense earn its hardware. Knights striker Ikaika Urasaki had four shots on goal in the second half, each going over the crossbar. He had another shot sail wide with less than a minute left.

"The guys held on," Kahuku coach Richard Oei said. "They really wanted to make their mark in the OIA White; more than likely we will be in the Red next year, so we wanted to make our mark."

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