Kaiser nets two 2nd half goals to top Moanalua, remain lone unbeaten in OIA East

Greg Yamamoto | SL

In the oh-so tight race for the top spot in the OIA East standings, Kaiser squeezed ever so slightly ahead of its competition, rallying with two huge second half goals by Laken Palmer to take down tenth-ranked and previously unbeaten Moanalua.

"We just pulled through. It was a close game, but the all the girls did super good," said Palmer of the win.

With the victory, Kaiser (7-0-1) remained the lone unbeaten team in the division, followed closely by Moanalua (7-1-0), Castle (6-1-1) and Kalaheo (6-2-0) with two games remaining on the schedule.

Despite more than its fair share of scoring chances in the first half, the Cougars persistence finally paid off in the 53rd minute of play, when Jordyn Pai caught up with a ball in the deep right corner and lofted it towards goal, where Palmer was in the right place at the right time to finish it off.

"It was just Jordyn, she's really good at crossing and just popped that ball up in the air and I knew I either had to head it or put my foot down and I just went with the foot," said Palmer of the equalizer.

The tying score only fueled the pace, and the home teams' relentless push on the offensive side of the pitch paid dividends again in the 67th minute, when Kamryn Ayano connected with Palmer on a through ball and placed an angled shot past the keeper for the go-ahead goal.

"It was lucky cause the keeper went on the ground and kind of missed the ball," remarked Palmer. "I like that angle, its from where I score a lot of my goals."

Na Menehune's best chance to salvage a tie came in the 75th minute, on a direct free kick from about 25 yards directly in front of goal. The shot attempt went well north of the crossbar, however, keeping the Cougars ahead.

Moanalua found its chance in the 24th minute and converted beautifully, as Kaitlyn Ferreria found an clear path to the goal after a charging keeper misplayed the ball, allowing the freshman to make the easy put away.

Beyond that chance, the Cougars controlled much of the contest in the first half, and took eight shots to just five for Na Menehune. The shot count was much more even in the second stanza, 8 to 7 in favor of Kaiser.

Marisa Lam was a rock in the net for Moanalua, registering 11 saves in the contest, which included denying a big shot on a breakaway by Alexis Roukema to keep the home team from equalizing in the first half. Her counterpart, Ashley Bethke, was also solid in goal, notching seven saves of her own.