Surfrider Soccer Theme: Capitalize On Every Opportunity
By Jack Danilewicz
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Throughout its recently completed season, the Kailua boys soccer team’s best offense was its defense. Should that trend continue in the upcoming State Soccer Championships, it will be all well and fine with first-year Surfrider coach Mike Griesel.
“If we have the ball, the other team can’t score - that’s been our mantra,” he said. “We haven’t scored as many goals as I would have liked, but we possess the ball really, really well. In most games, we’ve possessed the ball for three quarters, and when we lose the ball, we get it back.”
The team’s ability to control the flow of a game earned it the No 1. Seed out of the East in last week’s OIA post-season tournament. In earning a No. 1 seed, Kailua also earned a first-round bye, not to mention guaranteeing themselves one of the league’s four berths for the state tournament.
They won their semifinal game last Thursday over Radford , 3-1, to advance to a much-anticipated meeting with Waialua last Saturday in the OIA Division II title game. Waialua, which had earned the top seed out of the West, handed Kailua its only loss of the regular season, a 2-1 setback on Dec. 30.
“It was a definitely a game we could’ve won,” said Griesel, a former player at Colorado State, whose coaching stops include both Frontier Academy and Poudre High School in Colorado.
The Surfriders and Bulldogs could meet again in the state tournament, but Griesel is less concerned with opposing teams than with his own team as it prepares this week.
“The key for us is letting our own game show and playing the game we know how to play,” said Griesel, who is assisted by Jesus Gallardo Sr. “There can be a tendency to adjust our game to another team’s game rather than the other team adjusting to our own game.”
Kailua gave up only four goals on the defensive side during its 10-game regular season - second-best in the OIA behind Waialua, while scoring a whop-ping 40 goals, led by senior striker Matt Nakata’s 14 tallies.
“We’ve turned it on lately,” Griesel said of his team’s offensive output. “It wasn’t that we weren’t getting chances - it’s that we weren’t capitalizing on our chances. I think most teams struggle with that.”
In addition to providing scoring punch, Nakata has been among Kailua’s steadiest performers.
“You could put him in any position, and he’d do well,” the coach said.“He has really good ball skills, and he’s quick. Most offensive players aren’t known for their defense, but he plays really, really tough defense.”
Griesel also praised the play of junior sweeper Trey Tam and junior center-mid-fielder Jesus Gallardo.
“Trey is pretty much the heart and soul of the defense. He keeps our defense organized, and he’s a guy the others look to as an example. He’s a good player to have on your team. Jesus has been hampered by injuries, but he’s one of the best players we have at seeing the field. When he gets the ball, it’s hard to take it from him. He’s kind of our play-maker.”
Pairings for the Boys’ State Soccer Championships, which will run Feb. 11-14 at Waipio Peninsula Soccer Park, will be announced on Sunday.
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