Kaiser nets late goal to take down Castle on Senior Night

Rayden Aoki | SL

For the Cougars, netting a goal after nearly 157 minutes of match time had to have a been a sight for sore eyes.

Kaiser got the score it needed to eke out a 1-0 win over Castle as Rory Matsumoto-Hussey found Kanekoa in the 60th minute for the eventual game clincher.

Having scored its last goal late in the match against Kalaheo on Dec. 26, and failing to net a score against Kalani four days later, was definitely not the norm, as Kaiser had netted a goal in each of its last 18 divisional matches prior.

"We wanted to win (for the seniors) and we got it," said Kanekoa. "We just played hard."

The victory was also a proper send off for 12 seniors playing their final regular season home game.

"All of us got to play during the first half kickoff, it was a great experience to have everyone on the field, and then also finsihing strong with that one goal," said Matsumoto-Hussey.

Opting to give the home team the wind at its back to start, Castle did well to survive a flurry of Kaiser chances in the first half to a scoreless tie, and through the first 19 minutes of the second seemed primed to earn a possible draw.

Finally in the 60th minute of play, Matsumoto-Hussey received the ball in space in the attacking third and served a perfect ball to a waiting Kanekoa, who broke the drought with a shot in the back of the net.

"It was a really fast transition to our side going straight down the line and then crossing it Lea, and she boots it right in, which was great," said Matsumoto-Hussey of the play.

The goal was Kanekoa's fourth of the season, good for the team lead in the scoring department.

Lead in hand, the Cougars did not relent in terms of offensive pressure, continuing to press in the final ten minutes of play, getting at least three golden opportunities at an insurance score, but never found it, due in large part to forward turned keeper, Taja Kaaihue-Tollefsen, who made a number of key saves in goal to at least give her team the chance at the equalizer.

The win over the Knights was an important one mainly because a draw in the season finale against Na Menehune would clinch the East top seed for the Cougars. Both Kaiser and Moanalua have clinched no less than the second seed in the division regardless of the result in the finale.

"it was super important to win this game," said Matsumoto-Hussey. "We tied Kalani, but pushing through this game makes us stronger and will get us ready for Moanalua next week."