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Just For Kicks
Al Chase
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Ogata starts as frosh, earns 4.0 GPA at IIT
KEN Ogata enjoyed a successful transition from high school soccer at Moanalua, class of 2006, to the college level at the Illinois Institute of Technology in Chicago.
He earned the starting job at right fullback for the Scarlet Hawks and kept it for all 18 matches. Ogata scored once for the NAIA team that competes in the Chicagoland Collegiate Athletic Conference and finished 11-5-2 (4-3-2 in conference).
"Ken had a tremendous freshman year. He was an incredible asset both defending and going forward. His composure and relaxed, confident demeanor meant he rarely made a mistake. He has an exceptional first touch and will be a dominant player for the years ahead of him," said IIT athletic director and head coach Lee Hitchen.
"In addition to doing well athletically, Ken achieved a 4.0 GPA last semester in chemical engineering which is rarely heard of."
» Trel Mangarin (Hawaii Prep '04) placed half of his 12 shots on goal for the 11-6-3 Humboldt State Lumberjacks. Yet, the junior striker scored just once in 20 matches.
» Deysha Victorine (Kamehameha '06), a goalkeeper at Weber State, redshirted last fall.
» Jasmine Ah Choy (Moanalua '05), a sophomore defender, started eight matches and played in 18 for the George Fox (Newberg, Ore.) Bruins. She took six shots, put three on goal, but did not score. Ah Choy did have one assist.
» Mari Nagamine (Moanalua '06), a freshman defender for the 6-12-2 Bruins, started 10 of the 12 matches she played in last fall.
Limited action was the case for two players at Northern Colorado of the Big Sky Conference.
» Jordan Weeks (Kamehameha '05), a sophomore defender/midfielder, had one assist in 10 matches for the NCAA Division I Bears.
» Patricia Wong (Iolani '05), a sophomore midfielder, had one start, played in three matches and took one shot.
» Kevin Jewell (Makua Lani Christian '05) scored once and had one assist for the 7-9-4 San Francisco State Gators. The sophomore midfielder who also saw action up top played in 19 matches and put four of 11 shots on goal.
» Karlin Ladera (Maui) did not play for the Hope International Royals last year, but the senior defender is expected back this fall according to HIU athletic director Greg Pappas.
His brother Angelo, who also played at Hope International, played 11 matches for the Southern California Seahorses in the Premier Development League last summer.
» Mariko Strickland (Mid-Pacific '05) spent a week working out with the Australian Under-20 team recently in hopes of being on the team for the 2008 U20 FIFA tournament.
"It was a good experience, but they found out after I got there that I would be too old in 2008," said Strickland, who holds dual citizenship since her father (Greg) is an Aussie.
"The coaches told me they would let the national team coach know how I did, so hopefully I might go back there in the future."
Strickland played her first two years at San Diego State, but transferred to Long Beach State for the spring semester, one of seven players to leave the SDSU program.
» Jen Loo (Mililani '03) was named the co-Most Valuable Player of Idaho State's women's soccer team at the 55th annual Sam Bennion Athletic Awards Banquet on May 3.
Loo, a senior defender, is a three-time All-Big Sky Conference first-team selection. She finished her career on the Bengals career top-10 lists for goals, assists, points, game played and games started.