Sunday, February 3, 2002
[ HIGH SCHOOL SOCCER ]
Seabury Hall's day trip to Oahu yesterday netted the Spartans a 2-1 win over Iolani and its first state boys soccer tournament berth in recent memory. Seabury trips Iolani
for state berthBy Jason Kaneshiro
jkaneshiro@starbulletin.comSeabury Hall defeated the Raiders on their home field in a state tournament play-in game. The AT&T Boys Soccer Championship starts Wednesday at War Memorial Stadium in Wailuku.
"I've been trying to track the history, but I don't think Seabury has ever been in states," Spartan coach Kevin Ledesma said.
Seabury Hall and Iolani were forced to play for the last state tournament spot after finishing second in the Maui Interscholastic League and Interscholastic League of Honolulu.
Iolani controlled the early stages and took a 1-0 lead nine minutes into the match off a goal by Duke Hashimoto. But the Spartans tied it at 1 at the 30-minute mark when Brendan O'Connor scored off an assist from Taichi Hisano.
Seabury Hall took the lead 17 minutes into the second half on Kauila Rivera's goal.
Seabury Hall spent the most of the remaining time on its own half of the field, as the Raiders kept the pressure on the Spartans and had several shots at tying the match.
But Seabury Hall goalkeeper Chris Davis frustrated the Raiders with four key saves in the last five minutes. Iolani had an open shot in front of the net seconds before the final whistle, but the ball bounced wide of the goal.
"That was pretty hard, but I'm just happy I made all the stops," said Davis, a sophomore.
Seabury Hall joins Baldwin as Maui's representatives in the state tournament. Kamehameha is the lone ILH entry.
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