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Just For Kicks Al Chase |
Hawaii keepers fighting
for starting jobsVito Higgins is following in the footsteps of two other goalkeepers from Hawaii, Mike McCarthy and Josh Fouts, who guarded the pipes for the Gonzaga men's soccer team in just about every match the past eight years.
Higgins, who played for Pac-Five and graduated from the Academy of the Pacific, won a battle for the Bulldogs' starting job with two other freshmen goalkeeper recruits this fall.
The 6-foot-3 net tender has a 1.78 goals allowed average in 10 matches for the 5-4-1 Bulldogs. Higgins' saves per match (5.10) is second best in the West Coast Conference. He has recorded two shutouts.
Several other NCAA Division I goalkeepers from Hawaii have spent more time on the bench than on the field.
Adam Sthay, a senior from Punahou, lost his starting job at Loyola Marymount to junior Shaun Kalnasy, Sthay has appeared in three matches, starting two, and has a 2.58 GAA.
Junior Andrew Brown is coming off an injury redshirt season and has played just 45 minutes for the Creighton Bluejays. The Mililani graduate blanked UNLV in the second half of a 2-0 loss Sept. 12. Junior Leon Guido won the starting job in the fall.
David Semenza, a freshman from Punahou at Brown, has yet to play a minute behind junior Chris Gomez. And, senior Kealii Kuehu (Castle) has not seen any action for the St. Mary's Gaels.
Eryn Kishimoto is the only female goalkeeper from Hawaii playing in Division I. The freshman from Mililani won the starting berth for the Pacific Tigers, a team that is struggling with a 2-8-1 record. The 5-foot-4 Kishimoto beat out another freshman, 5-9 Laura Guerin, for the job. Kishimoto has played in nine of those matches and has a 2.05 GAA with one shutout and 56 saves.
Elsewhere
Erin Sayegusa is tied for second in points (12) for Fresno State on four goals and four assists. The senior striker from Kaiser has two match-winning goals for the 6-6-2 Bulldogs.Shari Nishikawa, a senior midfielder from Iolani, is the leading scorer for the 7-2-3 Loyola Marymount Lions with four goals and two assists.
Duke Hashimoto is the second leading scorer on the Southern Methodist (7-4-1) men's team. The sophomore striker from Iolani has four goals and two assists.
Richard Higa has won a starting berth with the 7-3-1 Massachusetts Minutemen who are ranked at the top of the National Soccer Coaches Association of America New England regional poll. The freshman midfielder from Mid-Pacific had his first college goal, a game winner, vs. George Washington Oct. 3.
Ben Villaflor, a sophomore midfielder from Aiea, has two goals on seven shots for the San Francisco Dons.
Freshman goalkeeper Kristin Muramoto has seen 186 minutes of action for the 10-0-0 Willamette Bearcats. Her minutes are second most on the team behind starter Kari Woody and the Iolani graduate has a 0.48 goals allowed average.
Romy Trigg-Smith is a starting defensive midfielder for the 6-1-2 Princeton Tigers, ranked No. 23 in the latest NSCAA/adidas poll. A sophomore from Punahou, she hasn't taken a shot yet, but has one assist in nine matches.
See the Columnists section for some past articles. Just for Kicks runs every other Sunday in the Star-Bulletin.
Al Chase can be reached at achase@starbulletin.com
