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February 28, 2008Seasiders Gain Experience Against Top Team
Honolulu, HI- Gamba Osaka Of Japan’s J.League took the title at the first annual Pan-Pacific Championship after beating the Houston Dymano 6-1 Saturday night and the L.A. Galaxy 1-0 in the tournament opener on Wednesday. Gamba Osaka played the Brigham Young University Hawaii men’s soccer team on the 15th as a tune-up for these matches. Gamba placed a lopsided scoring line on the Seasiders also. “It took us about twenty minutes to realize what speed we needed to play at. After we were able to adjust we played much better and had more time moving the ball around,” said BYU–Hawaii Head Coach Jeff Miller. “Gamba Osaka showed up in Hawaii to win this tournament. They did not play any of the games as if they were exhibitions. I was hoping for my guys to get a chance to play their first team, which they kept in the entire game. Gamba only made two substitutions around the 70th minute. It was a good chance for us to see how we matched up individually.” Freshman central defender Collin Walch said, “Bare, (Gamba’s 6’3” Brazilian Striker) was a handful, but it gave me a lot of confidence on the couple of opportunities where we were one-on-one. Their attacks as a team were so well organized that they made it very difficult for us to defend. We had to raise our game to where everyone had to defend and then we could start to move forward with possession.” “I was excited to have the chance to be on the field with them,” said Auro Utida, sophomore midfielder from Japan. “They were very skilled and quick players. I hope we have the chance to play them again next year when we are more fit.” Everton Prado, a freshman from Porto Allegre Brazil, said, “It was a great opportunity to meet and hang out with some of the players after the game and throughout the week. They were very generous with their time.” The BYU-Hawaii men’s team will be starting its 2008 campaign in the fall. Their first game is at home versus #11 Sonoma State on August 28th in the first annual Aqua Hotels Hawaii Soccer Classic.
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