Playing with what Coach Chris Lee called, "a sense of urgency," the varsity boys defeated the St Louis soccer team Friday afternoon in a game at 'Iolani that was not as close as the score.
According to assistant coaches Umur Turkalp and Paul Shimomoto, the Raiders outshot the Saints by a 14-3 margin, yet could only put two balls in the net.
At the eighteen minute mark of the first half, Eric Fitzmaurice put 'Iolani on the board, heading a perfect cross past the St. Louis keeper who really had no chance on the ball.
It seemed as if the 'Iolani team pulled back a bit as the half drew to a close, and more of the action shifted to the Raiders' end of the field.
The team came out re-vitalized, however in the second half, and after a busy sixteen minutes, Andrew Inaba made the score 2-0 as a Brock Granger shot rebounded off the keeper onto Inaba's waiting foot.
Once again, the momentum shifted as St. Louis rallied for a goal of its own at the eighteen minute mark.
'Iolani came back with a furious attack in turn, but was unable to score despite numerous opportunities to do so.
After the game Coach Lee stressed the need to eliminate errors and to take advantage of those scoring chances. He credited a revamped defense with a strong game as he moved Kody Adams up to midfield and put Danny Marks in the middle of the defensive line with Zach Lee at right back.
The next game is on Tuesday against Kamehameha at the 'Iolani field.
