Doing well in class and on the field

Hawaii soccer players excelled in the classroom as well as on the field during the fall semester.

Three were named Golden State Athletic Conference fall scholar-athletes.

» They are Jolie Nitta (Mililani '02) and Taryn Apo (Baldwin '03) from Azusa Pacific and Elizabeth Kalama (Kamehameha '03) from Point Loma Nazarene.

Apo, Nitta and teammate Mari Kasamoto (Iolani '03) also were named NAIA All-America scholar-athletes.

» Jaymie Honold (Kapolei '05) qualified for the Midwest Conference fall all-academic team. To qualify, athletes must maintain a 3.2 grade- point average and earn a letter. Honold is a sophomore striker for the Lake Forest Foresters. She scored twice and had three assists in 17 matches this year.

Two local players were named to the 2006 NSCAA/adidas NCAA Division I Women's All-West Region second team.

» They are Nicole Garbin (Baldwin '00), a senior striker at Oregon, and Jen Loo (Mililani '03), a senior defender at Idaho State.

In other news:

» Joni Yoon (Pearl City '03) led the New Mexico Highlands Cowgirls in scoring. The junior striker hit the net four times and had one assist. She put 20 of her 45 shots on goal. Yoon scored the match winner against Adams State on Oct. 13 with a shot from the top of the box at 36:49. She also scored the second goal at 40:17 on a header.

Amanda Jungblut (Aiea '06), a freshman midfielder, played in three matches for the 4-12-1 Cowgirls.

» Rachael Lau (Punahou '05), a sophomore midfielder, tied for second in scoring for Harvard with two goals and two assists in 17 matches. Freshman striker Kelsi Chan (Kamehameha '06) appeared in eight matches and had one assist. The Crimson struggled this year, going 3-13-1.

» Brad Fyffe (Kealakehe '03) tied for fifth in assists per match (0.33) in the Great Northwest Athletic Conference. The senior striker assisted on six goals for the 12-6-1 Emerson College (Mass.) Lions. He also scored four goals for the NCAA Division II team, putting 15 of 36 shots on net.

» Annie Tom (Mililani '03) was the second-leading scorer for the Boise State Broncos (7-7-4). The senior striker scored four goals, two of them match winners, and had one assist in 16 matches for nine points.

Teammate Allison Tsuchida (Punahou '04), a junior defender, started 17 matches and took three shots, but did not score.

» Stephen Carlson (Punahou '04) played just two matches for the Loyola Marymount Lions, then tore a ligament in his left ankle.

"I took a shot and landed funny, then another guy fell on me," Carlson said.

The junior defender has applied to the NCAA for a medical hardship year.

» J.P. Barbosa (Punahou '00, Dartmouth '05) was a graduate assistant coach with the Florida State women's team last fall. He is working on a masters of business administration.

Just for Kicks runs every other Friday in the Star-Bulletin. Al Chase can be reached at achase@starbulletin.com.