Just For Kicks
Expectations mounting
for HashimotoDuke Hashimoto capped his freshman season at Southern Methodist by being named to the Missouri Valley Conference All-Newcomer Team. The striker from Iolani was the Mustangs' second-leading scorer, with 17 points on six goals and five assists. Two of his goals were game winners.
He started 19 of 21 matches for the Mustangs, who lost in the third round of the NCAA tournament to Boston College 5-4 on penalty kicks.
SMU coach Schellas Hyndman had these comments about Hashimoto following a postseason evaluation meeting:
"Duke played in 21 games and his marks were good to very good in all games. Extremely dedicated to the team and the season. Lifestyle off the field was excellent. Well-liked by coaches and teammates. Will continue to improve this spring and the following year. Look for Duke to be scoring twice the number of goals next year."
Four freshman women from Hawaii competed for Ivy League teams this year.
Romy Trigg-Smith played in all 17 matches for NCAA tournament participant Princeton (13-3-1), which lost to Penn State in the first round. The midfielder from Punahou took four shots but didn't find the net.
The Tigers beat Cornell 2-0 to win the Ivy League title.
Kara Ishikara, a midfielder from Iolani who had two assists, and Michelle Quensell, a striker from Punahou, were in 12 and seven matches for Cornell, respectively.
"Kara and Michelle have been a positive addition to our team this year, but they will be even more formidable once they fully adjust to the demands of college life and that of Division I collegiate soccer," said Big Red coach Berhane Andeberhan.
"The soccer is actually not consistently as good in quality as they are used to in elite youth soccer, but the physical demands are much greater. So a technical player like Kara has the added burden of surviving the rough physical demands and still trying to play a constructive style of play. She did well enough for us this year and I expect even greater things from her."
Cornell (9-6-2), which lost the championship game of the ECAC Tournament to St. John's 2-1 on penalty kicks, is tentatively schedule to play in one of the Hawaii Wahine tournaments this fall.
Maile Tavepholjalern, who played at Punahou from the seventh to 10th grades before moving to the San Diego area, was in 16 matches for Harvard (8-7-1) as a midfielder. She scored one goal and had two assists.
Alisa Sato, a junior striker from Iolani, saw action in 10 matches for the Crimson, took five shots, but did not score.
Northwest Missouri State suffered through a 3-15-0 season despite the efforts of three Hawaii players led by Kapua Cabreros. The freshman striker from Maui High School was the Bearcats' top scorer, with six goals on 42 shots, and had three assists for 15 points in 18 matches.
Junior defenders Renee Judd (Seabury Hall) and Stacey Yamamoto (St. Anthony) played in 13 and 17 matches, respectively, with Judd recording four assists.
It will be interesting to see if the Hawaii connection continues at the NCAA Division II school in Maryville, Mo., as coach Joann Wolf was fired after the season.
Just for Kicks runs every other Sunday in the Star-Bulletin.Al Chase can be reached at achase@starbulletin.com