FL MORRIS / FMORRIS@STARBULLETIN.COM AYSO 2006 national soccer champs Na Wahine Koa from Laie returned home yesterday at Honolulu Airport, greeted by family and friends. Harley Hix received a lei and a hug from Mayor Mufi Hannemann as he greeted the team.

Getting their kicks

The Laie girls soccer team returns home after its AYSO win

Girls soccer team Na Wahine Koa practiced in muddy Laie back yards for months on their way to becoming the 2006 national champions Sunday.

"Since Laie doesn't have any soccer fields, we looked for any open area to play in," said coach William Mahoni, whose Laie team won all eight games at the American Youth Soccer Organization national championships for the 12-and-under division in Chicago.

The team became the first soccer team from the district to win a national title.

Mahoni said he even had to put duct tape on a chain-link fence during practices to show the size of a soccer goal post.

"Our team started from a primitive style of soccer," Mahoni said, "but it brought the girls down to Earth, understanding where they come from and what they have."

FL MORRIS / FMORRIS@STARBULLETIN.COM Kayla Taulapapa, left, Mata Tonga, Rachel Tailele and other members of the team performed a Maori dance in response to Polynesian dancers who performed at their arrival yesterday. The team also performed the haka with poi balls after each game, giving the opposing team their poi balls as tokens of the aloha spirit.

Still wearing their gold medals, the girls threw down their duffle bags and lined up to perform a Maori dance.

"We did the haka to respect our ancestors and culture," said 12-year-old Kahuku Intermediate student Brieana Mahoni, who led the other 11 girls through the dance.

They also performed the haka with poi balls after each game, giving the opposing team their poi balls as tokens of the aloha spirit.

The Laie soccer team not only earned the 12-and-under national championship title, but also the Sportsmanship Award, scoring 100 percent for each game.

"Everyone started dancing when we won the last game, even the opposing team," said 12-year-old Chantel Abregano, a seventh-grader at Kahuku Intermediate.

After defeating a Kailua team to get into the finals, the Laie girls beat a team from Newport Beach, Calif., 2-1, in overtime for the title.

Rachel Tailele, 12, also of Kahuku Intermediate, scored the winning goal with a penalty kick.

"I was telling everyone to be quiet so she could focus," said Laurie Abregano, a team mother, "but when Rachel gestured for us to 'bring it on,' everyone chanted her name."