Waipahu's Alysha Somera tries to play a ball in the second half with Aiea's Brianna Yamada defending . Michael Lasquero | SL

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Aiea's Nicole Olanda brings the ball down the left sideline in the first half. Michael Lasquero | SL

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Tue, Dec 12, 2017 @ Waipahu

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Aiea

2

Waipahu

3

Final	1st	2nd	OT	2OT	PK	Tot
Aiea (9-5-0)	2	0	-	-	-	2
Waipahu (10-5-0)	2	1	-	-	-	3

N. Olanda (2)   K. Manding    K. Manding

WAIPAHU — Waipahu scored on an own goal off a corner kick in the 68th minute to rally by Aiea, 3-2, Tuesday night at the Masa Yonamine Athletic Complex.

The Marauders (2-1) trailed 2-0 within the first eight minutes of the game before tying the game in the final 18 minutes of the half against Na Alii (2-1) in an Oahu Interscholastic Association Western Division girls soccer contest. Waipahu, who won the league's Division II crown a season ago, has moved up to Division I this year.

"This was a good test for us because a week ago, we were down to Campbell in the first five minutes," said Waipahu coach Brent Murakami, referring to a 5-0 season-opening loss to the Sabers. "It was like this wasn't going to be one of those games again and then they put in the second one, so to see the girls fight back was big time. We didn't have a very large bench, not a lot of subs, so that was huge for the girls."

About 20 minutes before the go-ahead goal, Waipahu forward Alysha Somera had her penalty kick stopped by Aiea freshman goalkeeper Shayla Sugai.

But Somera made up for it with a perfectly place corner kick about four yards dead center in front of the goal. In crowd of players, the ball deflected off an Aiea defender into the goal.

"I feel the team's effort was we all worked together to get there," Somera said. "We know when we're behind, we worked our hardest to get there. I'm blessed with this team because we wouldn't be here (winning) if it weren't for them."

But it was looking bleak early for the Marauders. One of the OIA's leading scorers, Nicole Olanda, made two early goals to put Aiea ahead, 2-0. Just five minutes into the game, Olanda attacked the goal and scored from 10 yards out. Three minutes later, she drilled one from 25 yards out to make it 2-0.

Aiea's Nicole Olanda brings the ball down the left sideline in the first half. Michael Lasquero | SL    Purchase image

However, Waipahu caught Aiea goals within 10 minutes on break away plays that saw Karlee Manding and Kaycee Manding score on point-blank shots inside the goal area at the 22nd and 31st minutes, respectively. On both occasions, Aiea defenders let up, anticipating offsides calls. But the whistle never blew and the Mandings went unscathed toward the goal area.

"It was offsides, but still no excuse," Aiea coach Ben Villaflor said. "The girls should know better. They should know to play the whistle, so our defenders thought it was offsides and stopped.

"Another this, that's what we do, too. We play like a trap; we're known for that. It pays off sometimes, but sometimes it goes against us; those were the two times (in the game). We play the offside traps, the ARs (assistant referees) gotta be even and gotta watch. If they're not there watching even with the line, a lot of times we don't get the calls. But that's what we do. We know that's going to happen. Sometimes it's going to work and sometimes not."

But it was Waipahu's defense that made the difference. After allowing the two early goals, they shut down Na Alii.

"I would say the end result was a good individual effort," Murakami said. "But in order for that to happen, it was actually credit to the team defense. I think that was the big thing for us, being able to make adjustments on the fly within the first 10 minutes of the game, to play better defense against what Aiea was trying to do."

Aiea had the ball on Waipahu's side most of the second half. Aiea had 10 shots on goal in the second half, but most were stopped by keeper Nanea Ogawa. Late in the game, Olanda took a shot from the left about 35 yards, but the ball crossed the goal area and deflected off the left upright.

Waipahu hosts Leilehua next Tuesday and plays Friday at Waianae.