Sharks Weekly Review: Women’s Soccer (12/5/22)

By: Paul Brecht

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HONOLULU – Happy holidays and a warm welcome back from us at Sharks Weekly, as host Jason Genegabus was joined this week by the HPU women’s soccer head coach Adria Borras, assistant coach Gretchen Berkey and sophomore defender Nicole Miyazono.

The trio rejoined Genegabus after appearing on the show back in September for a conversation regarding the team’s second half of the season, the 2022 World Cup and a quick look ahead to what next season may have in store for Hawaii Pacific’s growing soccer program.

The show opened with a review on the 2022 fall campaign for the Sharks in which they finished the year 5-8-3 with a 4-5-1 record in Pac West play. Genegabus caught up with Borras to check in on many close results that HPU had during a six-game homestand.

Following the first break, the crew was asked one of the famous “Genegabus Hard-Hitting Questions”, as they had to ponder what the one meal they would eat for the rest of their lives would be. While Miyazono had a full meal hitting multiple food groups, the coaching staff had simpler plates on their mind.

Coach Berkey responded with street tacos, as she said she could go for them any time of day and year. Coach Borras, the head man in charge from Spain, shared his love for pasta as he chose the broader answer that would be a theme for his answers to the hard-hitters.

The conversation then shifted to how the program has adjusted through COVID-19 and the change back to “normal” this past season. As with every collegiate program in Hawaii, the travel was discussed between both the other islands and back to the mainland for both local players and athletes brought in.

Coach Borras briefly touched on the Sharks’ upcoming 2023 schedule and how they will be taking their annual West Coast road trip at the beginning of the season rather than at the end.

This change, though seemingly small, will allow HPU to have Senior Night later in the season as it would naturally be and makes the worries that come with competing after travel at the end of conference play disappear.

Heading into the third segment, the 2022 World Cup took over the conversation as Borras discussed his ability to watch all the games (thanks in part to a newborn in the house) and how he has encouraged players to take in the high-class soccer matches as they can.

Though he hails from Spain, Borras detailed how he would like to see a team like Argentina take home the title from this year’s World Cup, one that very likely will be Lionel Messi’s final show. Berkey and Miyazono concurred, though all three quickly acknowledged how well Brazil has looked throughout the tournament thus far.

The show closed in the final segment with Genegabus asking the trio one more “Hard-Hitting” question, as he posed the scenario of being turned into an animal for the rest of their lives.

With a pair of big cats chosen by assistant coach Berkey and Miyazono, Borras once more took a broader answer by choosing “anything that can fly”, eliciting a chuckle from Genegabus and the other two soccer team representatives.

The final few pieces of conversation included the upcoming sporting clinic being held with HPU sport teams, if the soccer crew had started their Christmas shopping yet and finally the focus of the offseason for the Sharks as they head into the winter break and then spring training following the graduation of 10 players.

*Due to technical difficulties, this episode is not available on demand.*