Hawaii athletes off
to good start
Several Hawaii players got off to a good start, helping their teams to victory last weekend.
Tiara Hong scored on a head shot in the 99th minute of the first overtime period to give Oregon State a 2-1 win over UC Santa Barbara on Aug. 29. The 5-foot-8 sophomore defender from University High tallied her first collegiate goal off a corner kick by Jen Crump.
Adria Campbell accounted for one of Southern Methodist's four goals in a season-opening 4-0 shutout of Texas Christian in the Mustangs' opener. The sophomore striker is a Punahou graduate.
Jen Loo, a sophomore defender from Mililani, recorded an assist in each match as Idaho State opened its season by defeating Brigham Young 3-1 and Southern Utah 2-1. Loo assisted on the game-winning goal against Southern Utah.
Jennifer Iha scored the lone goal for Sacramento State in the Hornets' season-opening, 2-1 loss to Long Beach State. Iha is a senior striker from Mililani.
Lori Sakai has earned a starting job as a defender for the Nevada-Las Vegas Rebels. The Iolani graduate transferred to UNLV last year after playing her freshman season for Notre Dame de Namur (Calif.).
Kenji Treschuk and his Penn State teammates prepared for the upcoming season by taking a two-week training trip to Brazil, where they played seven matches.
Treschuk, a senior defender from Moanalua, scored a goal in the 4-0 win over Portuguesa de Desportos.
Home in Indiana
The Bethel College (Ind.) Pilots added more Hawaii players to their women's team this year to bring the total to seven from the 50th state playing for coach Pete Morey.
JoBette Nabarro transferred to Bethel, an NAIA school, after one season with NCAA Division I San Diego State. The midfielder then scored the first goal of the year for the Pilots in a 5-0, season-opening win over Calumet College of St. Joseph's.
Nabarro joins fellow Waiakea graduates Maile Carenio, a senior defender; Malia Carenio, a junior defender; and freshman midfielder Maluhia Desha on the Bethel roster.
Another Big Islander, Lisa Franke (Kealakehe) scored the final goal. The sophomore striker was a National Christian College Athletic Association first-team All-American last year.
Mayumi Stevens from Moanalua, a senior midfielder, and Katy Jenkins, a sophomore midfielder from Kauai, complete the Hawaii contingent.
Thiago Pinto, who is from Brazil and played for St. Joseph, is a junior midfielder on Bethel's men's team.
On the brink
Fresno State has placed its men's soccer and women's swimming programs on a one-year hiatus after efforts by boosters and student-athletes in partnership with the school did not meet a goal of $2.05 million needed to guarantee the funds to support the programs' annual operating budgets for a rolling four-year period.
It was announced in January that $1.6 million had been pledged during an eight-month campaign. School officials hope the one-year hiatus gives the boosters enough time to raise the remaining funds.
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