HAGÅTÑA (The Guam Daily Post) — For the second consecutive year, and in the same interminable, undefeated fashion, the St. John’s School Knights girls soccer team claimed the Independent Interscholastic Athletic Association of Guam middle school championship Friday afternoon in Upper Tumon.
With St. John’s School’s Zahna Whitehead defending her goal, and defenders Zoe Whitehead, Kira Johansen, Olivia Lee and Rachel San Agustin keeping the ball out of the net, the Knights needed overtime to defeat the visiting St. Francis Catholic School Crusaders 3-0.
“I’m super psyched on this team. This is a team that people slept on because we’re physically small,” said Knights head coach PK Harmon. “But we have a lot of foot skill, and it showed throughout the whole season.”
After 60 minutes of hard-fought, physical, shoulder-to-shoulder action and nothing but zeros in the score sheet, the Knights, in the first five-minute overtime period, wasted little time in finding the back of the net. With Knights stars Melu Harmon and Hayden Wilson strongly defended, as they had been all game, and with St. Francis goalkeeper Amaya Leon Guerrero sidelined after a late collision knocked her out of the game, St. John’s School’s Chloe Laxamana, in the first minute of OT, scored what proved to be the game-winning goal. With the Crusaders’ replacement goalkeeper Ella’ani Balajadia in goal, Laxamana drove a shot into the back of the net.
“Teamwork makes the dream work,” said Laxamana, a diminutive 11-year-old sixth grader. “We worked so hard to get here, to the championships.”
Throughout the regular season, coach PK Harmon had assigned Laxamana to the midfield. But in the championship game, he promoted her to striker.
“I’ve been using Chloe in the midfield most of the season. But I saw something to exploit during the regular regulation time, so I pushed her to the nine,” PK Harmon said. “And then she gave us a little spark up there. She’s quick. She has great ball touches. That girl’s a generational player. She’s going to be great.”
Up until that point, St. Francis defenders Kayla McIntosh, Alana Duenas and Balajadia, who started at fullback but replaced the stricken Leon Guerrero, defended their goal perfectly.
Although she wasn’t completely recovered from injury and having watched the Knights score a goal, Leon Guerrero re-entered the game and replaced Balajadia.
But even with Leon Guerrero back in goal, the Knights’ Aeva Sablan launched a shot from 25 yards out that sailed high above the defense, over Leon Guerrero and into the Crusaders’ goal. With a huge ear-to-ear grin, Sablan ran to midfield and celebrated with her team.
“I’m so proud of my team,” Sablan said. “It was a teamwork thing. We did it together.”
Leaving nothing to chance and with enough time for another goal, Wilson slotted an eye-level goal hard and fast into the left side of the net. Wilson, who had scored 19 goals during the regular season and two in the semifinals against the Bishop Baumgartner Memorial Catholic School Obispos, was not to be denied.
Missed opportunities
For nearly the entire two regulation periods, the Knights controlled the tempo but couldn’t score. Chalk it up to bad luck, combined with fierce St. Francis defense, mountains of missed opportunities mounted.
As they attacked and controlled the pace, the Knights’ Melody Cho blasted a shot wide of the goal. One minute later, and under constant double-team defense, Melu Harmon sent a shot wide of the goal post. Melu Harmon, during the regular season, scored a league-leading 23 goals and two goals in the Knights’ 5-1 win in the semifinals, and she commanded respect.
“All season, our bread and butter, offensively, was Melu and Hayden,” PK Harmon said. “It’s a compliment to St. Francis, they marked Melu the whole game.”
With the game deadlocked but the Knights threatening to score, Melu Harmon drilled a corner kick to Leah San Agustin. But amid heavy defensive pressure, San Agustin rifled a shot that tagged the right goal post and flew out of bounds.
As the Knights’ scoring chances ebbed and flowed, the Crusaders’ Charlie Mesa attacked. After skillfully dribbling past the Knights’ last row of defense, Zahna Whitehead dropped to the turf and scooped up the shot. The sixth grader thwarted St. Francis’ thus far only shot on goal.
But in less than a minute, the Knights popped on their proverbial battle horse and charged into Crusaders’ territory.
With time winding down and the score sheet filled with empty, round numbers, Laxamana dribbled through triple coverage and blasted a shot high over the Crusaders’ goal. Two minutes later, Melu Harmon pegged the crossbar. And as the shot ricocheted back into play, Laxamana booted a shot over the crossbar.
The second half
After a well-earned halftime break, the offensive-minded Knights and the battle-tested Crusaders charged onto the field.
Melu Harmon, still unable to find the net, from the right side of the field, rifled a hard cross that sailed in front of the goal but swept out of bounds.
As the Knights’ shots on goal piled up but proved fruitless, and the Crusaders’ opportunities few and far between, St. Francis’ Kiersten Cruz dribbled toward the Knights’ net and kicked a soft shot on goal that Zahna Whitehead easily saved.
With regulation time, like the setting sun, fading away, Zoe Whitehead tripped St. Francis’ Carmella Sudo. With a free kick awarded to St. Francis, Zahna Whitehead, amid a mosh of bodies, saved what could have been the game-winner.
Three minutes remained in the second half when a charging Knight, with forward momentum, collided with Leon Guerrero. After several minutes on the ground, Leon Guerrero was helped off the field and replaced by Balajadia.
Quickly, Wilson, with a point-blank shot, tested Balajadia who made the save and preserved the tie.
When the teams met during the regular season, the Knights defeated the Crusaders 3-1. Although the Knights scored the same amount of goals as they had in that first meeting, and perfectly perfected their goal, the championship game was a more physical battle than before.
“Today was unusual for us. We didn’t find the back of the net when we should have. We hit the crossbar, unlucky a few times, but we had possession a majority of the time, especially in that first half,” PK Harmon said. “It felt good to finally get that engine rolling offensively in the overtime minutes.”
