Late goal helps Hilo edge CLA

By MATT GERHART Tribune-Herald sports writer

The Hilo Vikings boys soccer team finally got the score it needed to secure one postseason goal.

The shutout could help it snag an even bigger one down the road.

Senior Eddie Torrison scored with six minutes left Thursday and the Vikings played with a clear sense of desperation and beat Christian Liberty 1-0 in a Big Island Interscholastic Federation match at Hilo Bayfront.

“We needed that one,” Torrison said of his second goal of the season. “(The Canefire) were playing for a win. Every team is playing for a win, but I think they would have settled with a tie.”

A draw would have felt like a loss for the Vikings (10-0-1). Instead, they clinched at least the No. 2 seed and home playoff match in the BIIF Division I semifinals. Just as important, they kept pace with Kealakehe (7-0-1) in the race for the top seed.

“We had to win,” Hilo coach Don Memmer said.

The Vikings have allowed eight goals this season, compared with Kealakehe’s four, and that’s determining tiebreaker should both teams win out.

“So it’s not like you can throw everything and the kitchen sink in at forward to try and score,” Memmer said.

The match featured a pair of formidable forwards wearing No. 7 jerseys: Hilo senior Johnathan Perez and Christian Liberty sophomore Nakaya Kerr.

However, Canefire coach Troy Rimel bumped Kerr back to center midfield and inserted sophomore Kekoa Mundo in at middle fullback in a defensive-first approach that worked for most of the match.

“(Kekoa) was amazing,” Rimel said. “I bet he touched the ball 30-40 times on clears. He was definitely our player of the game.”

The downside was that Christian Liberty (4-2-2) only got a limited amount of scoring opportunities close to the net against Hilo goalkeepers Mikah Hatcher and Johann Kuipers. Kerr and Ian Clark both had point-blank chances, but neither was able to get their shots through Hilo’s defense.

According to Hilo’s statistics, the Vikings held a 23-12 advantage in shots.

Perez nearly snagged his 17th goal midway in the second half when his shot from the right wing rattled the left post. Hilo’s Casey Nakatsu got to the rebound and his ball appeared to be headed for the left side of the net, but Christian Liberty goalkeeper Taylor Benevente made a diving stop to keep the match scoreless.

“That might have turned the momentum a little bit,” Memmer said, “and at that point I think we felt like we’d get a goal.

“They had a strategy defensively where they kind of packed it in. We were doing a good job getting around them but we couldn’t get a finish. Finally we got the header.”

The goal-ahead goal came off Dane Miyata’s corner kick. Torrison saw that the ball was going to clear Perez, so he headed it into the net about 15 yards out.

Hilo secured the top seed last year en route to winning its first BIIF title since 2003. Minus seven starters — including East Division Player of the Year Chad Wissing — Torrison said this season’s team has an entirely different chemistry.

“Everybody has had to step up and we’ve all gotten into our own niches and are playing for each other,” he said.

The Canefire sit in fifth place in the Division II standings, but they still have five matches remaining and Rimel said his team’s goal of gaining a Nos. 2 or 3 seed in the eight-team playoffs still is well within reach.

“We saw the intensity level that we wanted to see, especially since the match was more important to Hilo,” he said. “We just wanted to push them emotionally and see if we could get something to fall.

“We’re young up front but we’re starting to show some maturity and discipline that we’re excited about. Hilo’s intense and competitive, so if you can hang with them it’s good for morale.”

Honokaa 8, Hawaii Academy of Arts & Science 2: The Dragons got goals from eight different scorers to win at home.

Robert Connors, Pedro Sanches, Dylan Shiraki, Nino Quijano, Justin Warren, Chayce Moniz, Dylan Oandasan and Kodi Springer all scored for the Dragons.

Goal scoreres for HAAS (0-8-1) were not available.