Thanks to the scoring of senior Dianne Abel and junior Jen Abel, Kadena’s high school girls soccer season began pretty much the way the last two finished, with a victory over Okinawa archrival Kubasaki.

Dianne Abel scored goals late in each half and Jen Abel got the team’s first goal of the season in the sixth minute to power the two-time defending Far East Class AA champion past the Dragons 3-1 at Kadena Air Base’s McDonald Stadium.

“My captains did it,” coach Hoa Nguyen said of Dianne Abel, who set a Pacific record with 66 goals last season and added 27 assists, and Jen Abel, who had 29 goals and 25 assists. “A good game. Well played. We took it.”

Dianne tipped her hat to teammates who helped create the scoring opportunities.

“There are nine other people out there,” she said. “The entire team did well, with one week of practice prior to the game.”

The matchup pitted teams that played in the last two Far East Class AA title games, with Kadena winning 3-2 in a May shootout at Kubasaki and 2-0 in the 2004 championship at Camp Zama, Japan.

This time, a well-stocked veteran Kadena team went up against a Dragons squad that was strong defensively but which lost virtually all of last season’s scoring power.

Jen Abel took a feed from Niki Kauzlarich and scored in the sixth minute. Kubasaki answered quickly, as Kara Koeneke, one of several Dragons freshmen, caught Kadena goalkeeper Helen Schrock leaning the other way on a crossing shot up the middle that hit the corner of the net in the 18th minute.

Dianne Abel put Kadena in front to stay, taking a pass from Alicia Larson in front of the net and beating freshman goalkeeper Stephanie Ramirez to her left in the 30th.

It stayed 2-1 Kadena, thanks in large part to Ramirez, a newcomer in goal who stopped 12 second-half shots, including seven from point-blank range by Dianne Abel. Finally, Abel angled a shot from the right side way over Ramirez’s head into the net in the 78th minute to ice the contest.

“She stuck through it. She went after everything,” Abel said of Ramirez.

“She’s a goalkeeper who has a future,” Nguyen said. “That makes a difference. She was the key. That’s how they stayed in the game.”

“I was really nervous,” Ramirez admitted, adding that she told herself to “stay calm, don’t worry about anything, even if one got past me.”

Kadena’s and Kubasaki’s boys fought to a scoreless tie in another battle of defense and missed opportunities.

Kadena, the 2005 Class AA runner-up, peppered Kubasaki goalkeeper Justin Martinez with 12 shots, while Panthers netminder Ted Awana saved five shots. Kubasaki’s Chris Monroy came closest to scoring, clanking an open shot off the left goalpost in the 47th minute.

“You can’t have any more chances than that and not win it,” Kadena assistant coach John Reay said of a matchup that featured a goodly number of veterans on each side who’d played each other some 15 times over four seasons. “That canceled each other out.”

“We see those guys every year. Most of us have been together for four years; our caliber and skill level have increased,” Awana said. “We had our opportunities but the ball just didn’t fall. They’ll (Kubasaki) be tough come Far East and the next time we play.”

Short-handed Osan girls lose goalkeeper to leg fractureOsan American’s girls dropped their Friday Korean-American Interscholastic Activities Conference home soccer match 5-0 to Seoul American, and lost goalkeeper Crystal Flud to a fractured right tibia in a collision in front of the net with Falcons forward Nykol Cabrera.

The injury occured just before halftime with Seoul American leading 2-0. It left the Cougars (1-4) with only 12 players to suit up for Saturday’s home match with league-leading Seoul Foreign (5-0).

Former Cougar Margaret Nurse scored twice for Seoul American, giving her a team-leading three goals this season.

ScoreboardBoys soccer

Friday

Kubasaki 0, Kadena 0

At Kadena Air Base, Okinawa

Kubasaki.....0 0-0

Kadena.....0 0-0

Saves-Kubasaki, Justin Martinez 12; Kadena, Ted Awana 5.

Friday

Yokota 5, Robert D. Edgren 1

Edgren.....1 0-1

Yokota.....3 2-5

Goals-Yokota, Bronson Bailey 2 (6), Jason Stroup 2 (5), Andreas Cabral 1 (6). Assists-Yokota, Andreas Cabral 1, Jason Stroup 1.

Nile C. Kinnick 6, E.J. King 0

At Sasebo Naval Base, Japan

Kinnick.....2 4-6

E.J. King.....0 0-0

Goals-Nile C. Kinnick, Taro Evans 2 (4), Ivan Rivera 2 (3), Tyler Newland 1 (2), James Ciavarelli 1 (1). Assists-Nile C. Kinnick, Michael Frantz 2, Sam McAvoy 1, James Ciavarelli 1, Taro Evans 1.

Zama American 6, Matthew C. Perry 0

At Iwakuni Marine Air Station, Japan

Zama.....3 3-6

Perry.....0 0-0

Goals-Zama American, Thomas Chung 2 (5), Thomas McGinn 2 (2), Daniel Roper 1 (2), Aaron Vest 1 (1). Assists-Zama American, Aaron Vest 2, Daniel Roper 1.

Friday

Seoul American 6, Osan American 0

At Osan Air Base, South Korea

Seoul.....6 0-6

Osan.....0 0-0

Goals-Seoul American, Chris Churchwell 2 (4), Daniel Kim 2 (4), Daniel Burns 1 (2), David Crothers 1 (1).

Girls soccer

Friday

Kadena 3, Kubasaki 1

At Kadena Air Base, Okinawa

Kubasaki.....1 0-1

Kadena.....2 1-3

Goals-Kadena, Dianne Abel 2 (2), Jennifer Abel 1 (1). Assists-Kadena, Niki Kauzlarich 1, Alicia Larson 1, Sara Ragland 1.

Friday

Edgren 3, American School In Japan B 0

At Tokyo

Edgren.....2 1-3

ASIJ B.....0 0-0

Goals-Robert D. Edgren, Katy Keene 2 (6), Alyssa Rodrigues 1 (2). Assists-Robert D. Edgren, Amber Kers 1, Audry Haltli 1.

Nile C. Kinnick 4, Matthew C. Perry 0

At Ikego Heights Naval Housing Facility

Perry.....0 0-0

Kinnick.....3 1-4

Goals-Nile C. Kinnick, Lisa Murray 3 (3), Erica Niemeyer 1 (2).

Thursday

Yokota 2, Zama American 2

At Sagami Depot, Japan

Yokota.....1 1-2

Zama.....1 1-2

Goals-Zama American, Rachel Ravelo 1 (6), Saki Johnson 1 (1); Yokota, Daniya Nixon 1 (1), Breyana Anderson 1 (1). Assists-Zama American, Sarah Ashby 1; Yokota, Daniya Nixon 1, Stephanie Dolby 1.

Friday

Seoul American 5, Osan American 0

At Osan Air Base, South Korea

Seoul.....2 3-5

Osan.....0 0-0

Goals-Seoul American, Margaret Nurse 2 (3), Whitney Grandy 1 (2), Erica Anglade 1 (2), Jenna Donahue 1 (1).

Baseball

Friday

Zama American 9, Robert D. Edgren 5

At Camp Zama, Japan

Aaron Tabor pitched a complete game, scattering nine hits and three walks while striking out 15, and had two hits and two RBIs, including a home run, to help his own cause. Chris Noble also had two hits and two RBIs and Ron Cadelina, David Dreher and Mike Kim each added two hits for the Trojans. Josh Ray went the distance for the loss and had two hits, as did Kevin McDonald, and David Leh added three hits and two RBIs for the Eagles.

Migrated