Their average age seemed to be somewhere between 39 and 53 and they came from all walks of life.

There were teachers, nurses, florists, a traffic violations clerk, a masseuse, a postal carrier and even a judge.

It was the opening of the Aloha State Games women's soccer medal competition, and the field was filled with women whose lifestyles are dependent upon a daily challenge.

Many were longtime members of the Women's Island Soccer Association (WISA).

From a pool of Aloha State Games entrants, four patchwork teams were formed: Red, Green, White and Blue. Many were playing alongside each other for the first time. Some, like the White team's mother-daughter combo of Cheryl Buecher, 53, and Christa Buecher, 25, were playing together for the first time in eight years.

"I think the last time was in WISA, when I was 16," said Christa, a former Kalaheo all-star who also played at Colorado State and studied journalism.

"My soccer days are numbered," said Cheryl Buecher, a teacher. "I wanted to do this because I thought it would be a good opportunity to play with Christa. I'm getting old and slow, but as long as I can contribute, I'll continue."

Christa laughed when she heard her mother's remarks. "She gets her elbows out and she pushes and shoves and kicks out there."

The Blue team had its own mother-daughter punch in 51-year-old University of Hawaii student health center nurse Gwen Barros and her daughter, 21-year-old Jodi Barros, a University of Colorado senior.

District Court Judge Sabrina McKenna, who gave birth to a baby boy four months ago, was in the thick of it. "I think I started playing again six weeks after giving birth," she said.

The Green and Red teams battled to a 3-3 tie with goals from six different players.

Sherry McNeil put the Red team ahead 1-0 only 14 minutes into the first half, and it stayed that way until early in the second half. That's when Hilo's Chelsi Sakihara tied the score for the Green team.

Mella Kealoha-Lindsey, 39-year-old owner of a business services company and a wedding invitation business, gave the Green a 2-1 lead with the longest goal of the game. It was a deceptive 40-yard floater that eluded the reach of Red goalkeeper Betty Clark.

"I thought to myself, 'No way,'" said Kealoha-Lindsey. "It is the longest goal I've ever scored."

Annie Weaver tied it for the Red with a 15-yarder from the left wing. Then the Green got the go-ahead goal from Angela Tom Sing Vien, a 5-foot-6 Tahitian citizen studying accounting at the University of Hawaii.

For Vien, it was a case of bon chance. She intercepted a goal kick and fired it past Clark.

But Sheri LaCount, a 33-year-old postal letter carrier in Kailua, saved the day for the Red, scoring the tying goal in the closing minutes.

"Holly Lau worked it around the corner and made a beautiful pass that deflected off a defender, and I was right there and it went in," said LaCount.

Clark, a nurse, then made two key stops in the waning moments of the game to preserve the tie.

Ruth Waikiki scored the only goal of the second game as Blue beat White, 1-0.

"It's a nice sisterhood," said Maril Witt, 44, a professional sports massage therapist who played sweeper and stopper last night for the Green.

"I play soccer to stay in shape for my job," she said. "It also helps me appreciate injuries, training and competitiveness."