Soccer is one the "other" sports Aloha Stadium hosts. Though not a frequent occurence, the stadium can have a soccer field in its confines. When it was in baseball configuration, the soccer field fit right in with ample space around the pitch. Since the stadium was put in "permanent" football configuration, a soccer field can be put in, but the sidelines and corners are rather tight.
In 1977, Team Hawaii became a franchise of the North American Soccer League (NASL), and the team lasted for one season. The biggest draw of the season was when the New York Cosmos came to town with Péle on their team, and the Cosmos won. We had seats in the north end zone for the Cosmos / Team Hawaii game.
In the mid-90s (1994-97), the Hawaii Tsunami was part of the United States International Soccer League (USISL), a minor league pro soccer league. The Tsunami took the Northwest Division in 1996. Although there were many unknown players, the Tsunami had a number of local players, and was quite a treat to watch.
2005 saw the DC United and the Los Angeles Galaxy of Major League Soccer play a pre-season match, which featured 15-year-old Freddie Adu (DC) and Cobi Jones (LA). DC won 1-0, before a crowd of nearly 15,000.
The most recent soccer event was last year's Pan Pacific Championship Cup, which featured Gamba Osaka, Sydney FC, the Los Angeles Galaxy, and the Houston Dynamo. The biggest draws were David Beckham, and Brian Ching (from Hale‘iwa). Gamba Osaka won the tournament. Today's photo was taken during the first night's games.
1 comment:
So many sports there in Hawaii. I never realized a soccer field was called a pitch. An interesting fact for today. Have a great weekend!
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