Though Short On Players, Na Ali’i A High-quality Team
By Jack Danilewicz
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Del.icio.usClose encounters became a way of life for the Aiea boys soccer team last season, and this year, the forecast may be for more of the same. But that’s not necessarily a bad thing, in light of the program’s recent history.
Na Ali’i went 7-3-2 in 2008-09, good for second in the OIA Red West Conference behind Mililani. Aiea’s strong league finish - although tempered by 1-0 losses to both Moanalua and Kalaheo in the league playoffs - was more noteworthy given Na Ali’i's offensive struggles. Aiea tallied just 16 goals in 12 regular-season games a year ago. No other OIA team in either Division I or II had even a winning season with 16 goals or fewer last year.
“Colin and our defense are probably the reason why,” Aiea coach Jon Shirafuji said of last season, when his defense yielded only 11 goals in 14 games total.“We’re not always strong offensively, but it works itself out that way. We’d like to pick up the scoring - that’s always a concern. We’ll have to see if we have the personnel to create opportunities this year. That, and keeping our injuries down, will be important.
“We played pretty much all close games last year. This year won’t be any different. It will be competitive all-around (in the West).”
Aiea has its smallest roster in recent memory with only 15, but it will make up for lack of quantity with quality. In addition to Colin Honeker in net, they also welcome back mid-fielders Dylan Daguay and Sean Ching. Daguay was a First Team All-Conference selection by West coaches a year ago, while Honeker and Ching made the Second Team.
“They’re pretty much the focus,” Shirafuji said of the trio.“Colin is pretty much the only goalkeeper we have. He brings experience there, and his physical traits (are a plus). He’s 6 feet tall and pretty fit. He’s in great condition, coming off his cross country season.
“Sean plays hard and hustles. He’s one of our captains - he’s very vocal. We rely on him and co-captain Dylan to organize everything. He’s pretty much a guy who distributes the ball and creates a lot of opportunities for other guys.”
Youth consumes the rest of the Aiea roster, prompting Shirafuji to devote extra time to team bonding activities this preseason. “We have to integrate a lot of freshmen and sophomores (with the upperclassmen), so we’ve tried to focus on our cohesiveness.We’ll play everybody pretty much every game. We go out as a team - whether it’s bowling or miniature golf. Sometimes we have sleep-overs at the school gym. They enjoy that.”
Aiea, which begins its OIA season in mid-December versus Kapolei, played a pair of preseason scrimmages recently, beating Mid-Pacific and losing to Punahou. Shirafuji is in evaluation mode as he tries to settle his lineup.
“Our 11 are set - we’re focusing on what positions we’re going to put players at. We want to see who can do what, especially with the new guys. We have to see who can move the ball around and get us some (scoring) opportunities.”
Aiea returns to preseason action this weekend in the Moanalua Tournament, meeting Castle at Moanalua at 9 a.m. Friday in a first-round game of pool play. On Saturday, they will host Kamehameha at 1 p.m. in a much-anticipated matchup as part of the tournament, which concludes on Sunday against a team to be determined later.
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