KAILUA-KONA — Fitness will be key for the Makua Lani girls this season.
The Lions, who reached the HHSAA Division II state playoffs last season, and even won a game in the tournament, bring back nearly the same squad, but has found itself at 0-2 in the early part of the season due to the lack of fitness.
“We have a lot of players who play year-round, but we also have a lot of players who only play recreationally,” said Makua Lani head coach Riley Alcos. “This is going to be a good season, but we are still working on our fitness and trying to figure out who needs to go where and what formation to play.
“When you get tired you make mistakes, and when you make mistakes you have to run harder to fix them,” Alcos added. “We are shaky in some areas, but I have seem some good things so far.”
The Lions faced a tough Konawaena squad on Wednesday, and played well with the Wildcats through the first half and about 15 minutes of the second half.
However, down 1-0 with about 25 minutes to play, Konawaena began to light up the scoreboard, scoring five goals in an eventual 6-0 victory. Four of the goals were scored by Nanea Wall.
“Guy (Miranda) runs his players hard at Konawaena, so you know they are going to come in fit,” Alcos said. “In the second half that fitness kicked in and we got beat.”
Makua Lani is returning to the pitch, down only three starters from last year’s squad. Two of the three were defenders. The team was able to fill those holes with two incoming freshmen, defender Tia Lurbiecki and striker Llinahe Beatty. Beatty’s arrival allowed Alcos to push returning starter Madison Schuster to the back.
Despite only being a freshman, Lurbiecki is already gaining a lot of responsibility on the defensive side of the ball.
“I would rank Tia as one of the best defenders on the island,” Alcos said. “She is fast and smart. She is not big, but she is surprisingly strong and is not going to lose the ball when she wins it.”
Alcos added that Schuster’s position change helps bring composure to the backline.
As for his new offensive weapon, Alcos sees Ilinahe as someone who can quickly learn at the high school level.
“She is a little shaky right now on her touch, but the brains are there,” Alcos said. “It is great to have her up front to kind of settle the pace. She can hold the ball up for us.”
Captaining this year’s squad are Akari Shimizu, Katrina Whalen and Brianne Lauro. Shimizu and Whalen will both play in the central area, while Lauro controls the net.
“Both Akari and Katrina are very much responsible for directing the play of soccer this year,” Alcos said. “Brianna never played in the goal until her freshman year, but now as a senior, she is a fantastic keeper.”
Also returning as starters this year are Mara Duarte, Moni Moniate, Cresencia Kerr, Pua Kuahaihao and Halle Nottage.
Makua Lani will be playing in the second tier of the new three tier system and Alcos is one of the few coaches who has spoken out against the new format.
“I understand what they are trying to do but I don’t like it,” Alcos said. “It causes too much confusion and breaks down the league too much.
“There are too many iffy rules on who makes the playoffs and who doesn’t,” Alcos added. “I don’t even know how many teams are going to state or how many teams will make the BIIF playoffs, but I will respect their decision and just play.”