Pac-Five’s Jaeda Doctolero takes more satisfaction in seeing her teammates find the back of the net.
And she’s more than happy to set them up.
Maia Santa Monica scored in the 37th minute and Fua Nasu added a goal in the 70th — both off assists from Doctolero — as Pac-Five defeated Sacred Hearts 2-0 in the ILH girls Division II tournament final Saturday at Waipio Peninsula Soccer Stadium.
“It’s a great relief I don’t have that much pressure on me shooting,” said Doctolero, a freshman at Hawaii Baptist. “It’s an even greater feeling seeing my teammates succeed.”
Pac-Five and Sacred Hearts had already qualified for the HHSAA D-II state tournament, which starts Jan. 30. The Wolfpack will be seeded and receive a first-round bye in the 12-team tournament.
“I heard the other teams are good, so we’re really excited,” said Santa Monica, who attends Maryknoll.
Pac-Five applied pressure throughout the first half before finally getting on the scoreboard in the 37th. Doctolero got loose in the box, drew a couple of defenders and slotted the ball to Santa Monica, who nailed it past Sacred Hearts goalkeeper Alexis Schmidt.
“I just saw her and I was like, ‘Why not give it to her?’ She was right there and I was so happy she connected with my pass,” Doctolero said.
The Wolfpack had 10 shots on goal and four corner kicks before halftime.
In the 49th minute, Pac-Five’s Faith Lee juked a defender on the left side of the penalty box and sent a shot off the crossbar. The ball bounced straight down and about a foot in front of the goal line.
In the 70th, Doctolero gained possession on the right side of the box and fed a streaking Nasu, who tapped it into the goal from point-blank range. Nasu attends University.
“Me and her always connect,” Doctolero said. “We played club (soccer) together. I’m just so happy I got to connect with her and she got to score the second goal and close out the game.”
The Wolfpack (8-4) had 13 shots on goal, while the Lancers (6-6) had just one. Riley Sagapolutele was in goal for Pac-Five.
“They have way more speed than we do and that was the biggest factor,” said Sacred Hearts coach Glenn Arakawa.
The teams were meeting for the third time in 11 days. The Wolfpack won 4-0 on Jan. 9 and the Lancers prevailed 1-0 on Jan. 12.
“That didn’t sit well with them,” first-year Pac-Five coach Shannon Leong said of the loss.
As for Saturday’s victory, Leong said: “The girls did it all. They already knew what they had to do.”
There are 21 players listed on Pac-Five’s roster with Maryknoll and University being the most represented, according to Leong. The team practices at Kapiolani Park.
“The girls are like sponges,” Leong said. “We didn’t have any trouble. There were no cliques. They all picked up on the things we wanted them to do. The bad habits they had, they broke that apart.”