COURTESY OF TONY QUINN, GEORGE WASHINGTON UNIVERSITY
Sophomore Audrey Ehrhorn of George Washington University in Washington, D.C., is one of at least 49 women from Hawaii using their heads in NCAA Division I soccer this fall.
Getting a kick
out of soccerSome of the islands’ best
women soccer players are
making an impact
at mainland colleges
Mililani's Jennifer Loo played soccer in a snowstorm for the first time Thursday.
"The snow was blowing in my face and sticking to my shoes, but I scored a goal," she said.
The heat and humidity was so suffocating in North Carolina in August that Pearl City alum Carmen Calpo "felt like I was going to pass out. I only lasted 15 or 20 minutes in our first two games."
Loo, a true freshman at Idaho State, and Calpo, a sophomore transfer (from UH) at Eastern Carolina University, are two of the 32 women from Hawaii playing NCAA Division I soccer on the mainland this fall, according to a survey by Hawaii Homegrown Report.
Including the 17 local women on the University of Hawaii's most successful Rainbow Wahine soccer team, there are at least 49 Division I female soccer players from Hawaii.
Football is the only sport that has more athletes from Hawaii playing at the highest collegiate level -- and it does not have as many on mainland Division I rosters as women's soccer.
Success stories abound.
>> Loo "will take us to the next level," Idaho State coach Gordon Henderson said.
She smacked a 30-yard free kick off a defender and into the goal in the 87th minute last Sunday to send a crucial game against Sacramento State into overtime. Idaho State won 2-1.
>> Oregon sophomore Nicole Garbin (Baldwin '01) leads the Pac-10 in shots (63, 4.20 per game) and is fourth in assists (six).
Last Sunday night, Garbin had assists on both goals, including the game-winning header by sophomore Mele French (Mililani '02), as Oregon beat California for the first time in history, 2-0.
>> Senior Shari Nishikawa (Iolani '00 of Kaneohe) has scored three of Loyola Marymount's seven game-winning goals.
"Simply put, she is a coach's dream," says LMU coach Gregg Murphy. "She is a tremendous athlete and a fantastic person. She has been playing since early October with a painful hip flexor injury, but she would stay out there 90 minutes on one leg if we let her."
>> Besides being a 4.0 (straight A) student at Ivy League Cornell, Kara Ishikawa (Iolani '02 of Mililani) has "played almost every minute of every game," coach Berhane Andeberhan said. "Ishi was on fire" when she scored two goals against Army," Andeberhan said. "She was unstoppable."
>> Sometimes the Ivy League seems like the Maile League. There are five players from Hawaii in the No. 1 academic conference.
The same day that Ishikawa doubled for Cornell, sophomore Maile Tavepholjalern, a former Punahou student from Manoa, scored two goals and senior Alisa Sato (Iolani '00 of Mililani) had one goal for Harvard.
>> Princeton sophomore defender Romy Trigg-Smith (Punahou '02 of Kailua) has "started every game and has played every minute in nearly all of them," team spokesman Jerry Price said.
"She is doing a stellar job at center back" for the Tigers, who are 10-1-3, coach Julie Shackford said.
>> Sophomore Audrey Ehrhorn (Iolani '02 of Kailua) has started two of the last five games for George Washington and added a "real tough, physical presence" to the defense, team spokesman Lars Thorn said.
Nearly two dozen of Hawaii's Division I players on the mainland are in western states, in conferences such as the West Coast (seven players), Pac-10 (three), Big Sky (five), Mountain West (three) and WAC (three).
>> Senior Kaula Rowe (Kamehameha '00 of Waimanalo) is Nevada's career leader in points and goals scored (currently 39 and 18) and teammate Leisha Makinano (Iolani '00 of Kaimuki) was named WAC Offensive Player of the Week Oct. 20 after she scored both goals in the Wolfpack's first league victory.
>> The first assist in the UC-Santa Barbara career of freshman Chandi Bickford (King Kekaulike '03) was a biggie. It sent a game against sixth-ranked Pepperdine into overtime, where the Waves won 3-2.
>> Erin Sayegusa (Kaiser '00) has started 60 games in her four-year career at Fresno State, contributing 16 goals -- including seven game-winners.
"She possesses a great technical ability on the ball, and she has been a team leader both on and off of the field," coach Stacy Welp says.
>> Chelsea Montero (Kamehameha '00 of Mililani) has started every game for the past four years at Saint Mary's in California, first at defender and now center midfielder.
Asked to recap her college career, Montero said, "It's an amazing feeling of accomplishment. Only select people can play a college sport and still do good in school and still have a social life. I couldn't have asked for a better experience. I am more than happy."
The common thread among nearly all of the Hawaii Division I players at mainland colleges is that they played for good club teams, like the Honolulu Bulls or Leahi, and were recruited because of the skills they showed at major tournaments, like the Surf Cup in San Diego.
Bulls coach Phil Neddo, praised for raising the level of youth soccer since he moved to Hawaii, says, "The talent was always here. We just helped increase the exposure."
Hawaii Homegrown Report has identified these NCAA Division I women's soccer players from Hawaii in 2003. If there are others, let us know: homegrown@verizon.net
For submissions: Email: dennis@lava.net with name, high school, college and sport >> Fax: 236-4195 >> Phone: 236-3654 or toll free 1-888-236-3654
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Using their head
* -- Taylor transferred this fall from Washington State. She tore her right ACL and meniscus in preseason camp and is taking a medical redshirt year.
Player College Yr. Ht. Pos. Chandi Bickford (King Kekaulike) UC-Santa Barb. Fr. 5-7 D Carmen Calpo (Pearl City) Eastern Carolina So. 5-9 F/M Adria Campbell (Punahou) SMU Fr. 5-7 F Jenny deHay (Kamehameha) LSU Sr. 5-6 M Ashley Doi (Mililani) Pepperdine Fr. 5-5 D Audrey Ehrhorn (Iolani) George Washington So. 5-8 D/M Mele French (Mililani) Oregon So. 5-5 F Nicole Garbin (Baldwin) Oregon So. 5-8 F Tiara Hong (University) Oregon State Fr. 5-8 D Jennifer Iha (Mililani) Sacramento State Jr. 5-6 F Kara Ishikawa (Iolani) Cornell So. 5-2 M Randi Kikuchi (Seabury Hall) San Francisco So. 5-1 D Eryn Kishimoto (Mililani) U of Pacific Fr. 5-3 GK Jennifer Loo (Mililani) Idaho State Fr. 5-8 M Charlene Lui (Punahou) BYU So. 5-2 D Leisha Makinano (Iolani) Nevada Jr. 5-8 D Chelsea Montero (Kamehameha) Saint Mary's Sr. 5-5 M Jobette Nabarro (Waiakea) San Diego St. Fr. 5-8 F Karalee Narimatsu (Mililani) Sacramento State ** Sr. 5-3 M Shari Nishikawa (Iolani) Loyola Marymount Sr. 5-2 M Kari Otani (Maui) Portland State Fr. 5-0 M Kaula Rowe (Kamehameha) Nevada Sr. 5-5 F Lori Sakai (Iolani) UNLV So. 5-1 D/M Erin Sayegusa (Kaiser) Fresno State Sr. 5-4 M Alisa Sato (Iolani) Harvard Sr. 5-2 F Jamie Shoma (Iolani) Loyola Marymount Sr. 5-5 D Sarah Takekawa (Kailua) Saint Mary's Jr. 5-5 M Maile Tavepholjalern (Punahou) Harvard So. 5-4 M Tiffany Taylor (Punahou) Boston U.* Jr. 5-6 M Tiffany Todo (Iolani) Cornell So. 5-6 F Liane Tom (Mililani) Boise State Fr. 5-6 M Romy Trigg-Smith (Punahou) Princeton So. 5-7 M
** -- Narimatsu tore ACL in spring practice, is redshirting this season.
Michelle Quensell is not playing this year at CornellTotal = 49 (32 on mainland, 17 at University of Hawaii)
