Pearl City Boys Soccer Charging Into Postseason Play
By Jack Danilewicz
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First-year Pearl City boys soccer coach Randy Shinn isn’t so far removed from his own playing days that he’s forgotten Rule No. 1 in approaching the postseason.
“As I mentioned to our coaches and players, we try to take it one game at a time and not look too far ahead,” said Shinn,who was a member of the Chargers’ last Oahu Interscholastic Association championship team in 2001. “It’s any team’s year right now.”
The team is catching its collective breath this week after closing out the regular season with a flurry of games.A make-up contest with Mililani last Saturday meant a third game in five days for Pearl City, which had played Waialua the day before and Kapolei yesterday in their West finale. The Chargers had entered the weekend in third place (at 5-2-2) behind Mililani and Aiea, which put them in position to possibly earn either the league’s No. 1 or No. 2 seed for next week’s OIA Tournament.The top two seeds from the West also earn first-round byes, meaning the Chargers would have to win only two games in the tournament to make the final. Pairings for the OIA Tournament, which runs next Wednesday through Saturday, were to be set after press time.
Regardless of the Chargers’ seed next week, they figure to be among the more intriguing teams to track, having played some of their best soccer of late.
“It took some time - I’m their third (head) coach in three years - but I can see a huge difference in our maturity from the beginning of the year to now,” said Shinn. “I’ve been happier with each game they’ve played. They’re communicating more, supporting each other and working together, and they’re improving, which is all you can ask for. There’s always room for improvement, but I’ve been very proud of them.”
As the Chargers look back on their regular season, Dec. 26 is a fond memory. Indeed, it was on that day that Pearl City overcame a 1-0 deficit to score a riveting 3-2 victory over Aiea.
“The strength of this team is its heart,and they showed a lot in coming back in that game,” he said. “We played an awesome team in Aiea, and it showed the boys that they could come back.”
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In Shinn’s view, the Chargers are akin to a blue-collar team largely without superstars.
“No one player has been superior. We have the whole team stepping up right now. We’ve seen a lot of growth - the seniors and juniors have all stepped up - and they’ve all been working together and acting more as a team.”
The Chargers seemed destined to earn the distinction of the OIA’s “hard-luck team” early-on this season,with only a 1-2-1 record to show through their first four games. That stretch included losses to Mililani (1-0) and Radford (3-1) as well as a scoreless tie with Aiea in the first meeting between the teams Nov. 30. A pair of 2-1 victories over Waialua and defending OIA champion Kapolei closely followed and helped return the Chargers to the mix in the West. They entered last weekend having gone 4-0-1 over their last five encounters.
“It’s better to lose early than in the end,” Shinn said. “We had some tough losses, but at the same time, that allowed the kids to see that they have to keep working hard to get to where they want to go.It all comes down to who works the hardest and who wants it more.”
The top five finishers from the OIA Tournament will earn the league’s berths for the JN Automotive Boys Division I State Soccer Championships, which will take place Feb. 6-9 at Waipio Peninsula Soccer Park.
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