On the 5th day of the Hawaii expedition, the players also came to the venue from their host families. They had completely blended into the families, and reported with smiles, "It's fun," and "We had a party together." Also, since the outdoor activities have continued, both the players and staff are tanned.
The opponent in the final match, after advancing through the preliminary league, was SURF HI, a local club team that we had suffered a big loss against the day before. Because of the frustrating loss in the previous match, the players were fired up from before the game, determined to get revenge.
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From the start of the first half, both teams created chances but couldn't score. The opponent was the first to take advantage of Antlers' opening and scored the first goal. Antlers counterattacked, and Kaede Shibui, who received the ball in the center from the right side, rotated her body to get past her marker and sent a through pass to Mido Tanaka, who was running in. Tanaka carefully observed the opponent's goalkeeper's movement and calmly slotted the ball into the goal to equalize. However, one minute after the equalizer, the opponent scored a long shot, taking the lead again, and the first half ended 1-2. Soon after the kickoff of the second half, Yusaku Nakamura, who was playing as a center-back, intercepted an opponent's pass and then scored an unexpected long-range shot to equalize. In the 15th minute of the second half, Tanaka dribbled past an opponent from the right side and scored her second goal of the day, finally taking the lead. Kashima Antlers defended against the opponent's attacks until the very end and won 3-2, thus winning the tournament.
After the match, an awards ceremony was held, and the team received the championship cup from Mr. Sergio Borioli, Vice President of the Hawaii Soccer Association.
The families of the SURF HI players, who played in the final match, hosted a potluck party for us. Each family brought a dish, and everyone picked and enjoyed the various dishes. The players thoroughly enjoyed the homemade food.
Today marks the end of our homestay, and it's time to say goodbye to the families who have taken care of us. Before the expedition, we were anxious about the homestay, but we made many wonderful memories and said goodbye to our host families with smiles.
Tomorrow, we have a full day of sightseeing planned.
