Wednesday, February 13, 2002

[ HIGH SCHOOL SOCCER ]

GEORGE F. LEE / GLEE@STARBULLETIN.COM Aiea High School soccer sisters Kimberly Unten, left, and Jodie Unten have 22 goals between them this season.

Sisters in soccer

Jodie and Kimberly Unten
spend their quality time
together on the field

---

By Marc Dixon
mdixon@starbulletin.com

A family that plays together, stays together. Well, at least sometimes on weekends.

Jodie and Kimberly Unten are the sister soccer stars for the Aiea varsity girls team this season. And despite spending most of their time in different houses, the girls have come together to guide Na Alii to a second-place finish in the OIA West and a berth in the state tournament.

"We actually live in Waipio," explained older sister Jodie. "But we spent a lot of time at our grandparents' in Aiea. I went to Aiea Intermediate and she wanted to go to Highlands."

Junior sister, Kimberly, in age and grade, lives in the Waipio house while her senior sister stays with the girls' grandparents.

"She comes home once in a great while, like once a month," Kimberly said with a laugh.

"Well, we see each other in school and at practice, and we hang out at Grandma's house after school," Jodie said. "I know her friends, she knows mine."

Although physically separated, the dual homes may have eased the trauma of having two teenage girls under one roof.

GEORGE F. LEE / GLEE@STARBULLETIN.COM Aiea's Jodie Unten, left, and Kimberly Unten clowned around during practice on Monday afternoon.

"We don't have to share the phone or the Internet," Jodie said.

They have, however, found a way to share the glory. The Unten girls combined for 22 goals this season. Kimberly was fourth in the OIA West with 13 and Jodie ranked seventh with nine goals.

The pair has been a force in the OIA West for years, however, this is the first year they are doing it as teammates. Last year, Kimberly was a Star-Bulletin All-State honorable mention defender for the Pearl City Chargers, while Jodie was capturing second team All-OIA accolades as a defender for Aiea.

After years of prodding by her older sister, Kimberly, finally agreed to transfer to Aiea.

"Time was running out. It's her senior year and the last chance we might have to play together," Kimberly said.

The decision was a difficult one. Kimberly left behind friends, teammates and the comfort of the only high school she had known.

"I did it for her (Jodie)," Kimberly said. "I might even go back and graduate from Pearl City with my friends next year."

A lesser factor was the chance to be offensive. Jodie and Kimberly have moved to the other side of the ball this season. Jodie stepped into the middle halfback spot vacated by graduated OIA all-star Joelle Sugai, and Kimberly won a striker spot in an unofficial audition in summer league.

"Moving Jodie and Kim have both helped us tremendously," Aiea coach Gordon Matsuoka said. "Kim is a natural attacking forward and Jodie in the middle allows her to lead the team better."

The transfer brought together OIA West rivals and has quelled some of the competitive feelings between the two sisters presently, but the past still presents the opportunity for some family bragging rights.

"Last year we played them for the OIA championship," Jodie said.

"And we won," chimed Kimberly. "But this year we're not competitive especially when it comes to scoring. As long as someone scores so we win."

Said Matsuoka: "They work very well together. They can find each other, feed each other and are able to score."

The girls acknowledge that they play to each other's strengths.

"She (Kim) is really fast and she can get off her crosses and finish," Jodie said.

"And she (Jodie) is good at distributing the passing, controlling the ball and getting to the strikers," responded Kimberly.

After defeating Pearl City on penalty kicks to claim third place in the OIA, Aiea advanced to the state tournament where the sisters feel they have an excellent chance if they can complete the play.

"We do a good job of getting the ball around the net, but we need to score more," Matsuoka said.

The girls acknowledged a better effort may be needed offensively, "Our defense is strong, they've bailed us out all year," Jodie said. "We just need to finish and we'll do well."

If the Aiea team does well, a rematch with OIA champion and top seed Mililani is a possibility. Aiea played Mililani to a tie in the regular season, the only blemish on Mililani's record.

Meadow Gold Girls State Soccer Championship All games at Waipio Peninsula Soccer Park Today Field 2 Kalaheo vs. Hawaii Prep, 1 p.m. Kapaa vs. Kailua, 3 p.m. Field 3 King Kekaulike vs. Aiea, 1 p.m. Pearl City vs. Kealakehe, 3 p.m. Tomorrow Field 2 Kapaa/Kailua loser vs. King Kekaulike/Aiea loser, 1 p.m. Field 3 Kalaheo/Hawaii Prep loser vs. Pearl City/Kealakehe loser, 3 p.m. Main Stadium Hilo vs. King Kekaulike/Aiea winner, 1 p.m. Baldwin vs. Kalaheo/Hawaii Prep winner, 3 p.m. Punahou vs. Pearl City/Kealakehe winner, 5 p.m. Mililani vs. Kapaa/Kailua winner, 7 p.m. Friday Field 2 and 3 Consolation games, 3 p.m. Main Stadium Semifinals, 5 and 7 p.m. Saturday Field 2 Consolation championship, 3 p.m. Field 3 Fifth-place, 3 p.m. Main Stadium Third-place, 5 p.m. Championship, 7 p.m.

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