SOCCER: ISLANDERS CONTINUE TO ROLL

By Jeff Ochavillo

Boys IIAAG soccer is still early in the season but the the John F. Kennedy Islanders continued their win streak and showed their caliber by getting a 4-0 blowout victory against the Guam High Panthers at the Islander home field Monday evening.

The Islanders had a slow start having to deal with their sloppy offense and passing game. However, it was not until a three-ball tip from the left side of the field started the JFK’s offense. The ball was touched by three Islander teammates before it had gotten in the goal. It started off with Sora Recella who passed it to teammate Agustin Choi, who crossed it into the goal box for captain Phillip Ogo who finished the goal with just a simple chip of the foot for the first goal of the game.

“Yes, we did start off a bit sloppy in the first minutes of the game, but after the first goal, it had increased the team’s momentum and put us in the right game mentality to get us the win tonight. Our game play continued to get better throughout the game after the goal,” stated senior Captain Phillip Ogo on his goal.

The Islanders where then able to punch another goal in the 20th minuted thanks to forward Kyle Perez. It started with Agustin Choi leading the attack after taking the clearance from his defenders. Choi used his fancy footwork to get past the Panther’s defense to get a cross in the penalty for the running Kyle Perez to finish the play with a header that slipped off the hands of the keeper.

Sora Recella of the Islanders flees from the Panthers defenders towards the goal. (photo by Kyle Twardowski)

Coming out of the half, the Islanders came out with even more energy then they had in the end of this first half. From there, they continued their scoring streak by scoring in the opening minutes. After a punt from the Panthers, Islanders’ Ryo Sakane ran the ball to the left corner of the field and crossed kicked a perfect pass to a cutting Sora Recella, who leaped high towards the goal and finished with a header to help the team go up 3-0.

It was definitely going well for the Islander, but the Panthers were intent on making a game out of it. Guam High had a few tricks of their own to put the Islanders defense on a scare as they had many one-on-one situations, but speed was on the side of JFK where their defense broke apart the break aways to get the shutout.

In the 2nd half, Guam High’s Trevor Riney was able to get a good handle of the ball as he maneuvered through the middle of the field against many Islander defenders, but it was not until he lined up at the penalty box, about to launch the ball, that Islanders’ Patson Haimin ran in to block the shot.

The game remained silent and continued to be rallied as the ball kept flying over the field from so many missed attempts by both teams.

Trevor Riney blocks a pass from Kaito Inoue to prevent the Islanders from moving up the field. (photo by Kyle Twardowski)

In a last ditch effort within the last minutes of the game, Isladners’ Noah Duenas saved a ball from going out of bounds to keep it in play. He ran the wide towards the goal and launched the ball that reflected off the goalkeeper’s hands for teammate Kaito Inque to kick it back to score the last goal of the game.

Inque was given a yellow card afterwards for foul language, but it did not matter since the referees had called the end of the game with the whistle calls.

“It is still the beginning of the season and every game is a learning experience. In tonight’s game, we needed to work more on our ball control and communication. Other than that, we are working well together as a team in terms of chemistry,” stated Ogo about his team’s performance.

The JFK Islanders displayed how much of a caliber team they are this season with a great start. The JFK Islanders got the win and now have a record of 5-0-1.

PHOTO GALLERY:

Joseph Connely of the Panthers keeps the ball away from Ezra Valdez with his foot work skills. (photo by Kyle Twardowski)

Hunter Yatar hustles to attempt to block a shot from Ezra Valdez on goal. (photo by Kyle Twardowski)

Agustin Choi attempts to get the shot off before being blocked by Panthers keeper, Dante Banes. (photo by Kyle Twardowski)

Phillip Ogo gets aerial to head the ball and keep it in play for the Islanders in Panther territory. (photo by Kyle Twardowski)