The state’s leading scorer from last year has played her last high school soccer game.
Aiea senior Raisa Strom-Okimoto, who led Na Alii through a magical run to a runner-up finish in last year’s state tournament, tore the ACL in her right knee on Maui in Aiea’s first tournament of the preseason last month.
Strom-Okimoto led the state with 24 goals last year, scoring five goals in a game twice in the regular season. And she did all that after sitting out her sophomore year when she tore the ACL in her other knee.
Strom-Okimoto pledged her allegiance to Hawaii last year, and Aiea coach Benji Villaflor says UH said it will honor its commitment to her.
“She already accomplished all that she could in high school,” Villaflor said. “There are bigger things waiting for her, even beyond college, so I told her to just take her time and get ready for UH.”
Strom-Okimoto was a first team all state selection for the Star-Advertiser last year and the OIA West player of the year in voting by that league’s coaches. She was second-team all state her freshman year and is one of the state’s most accomplished pitchers in softball.
She is not the only soccer star who will miss the season. The Punahou boys will have to maneuver through the ILH without Alec Dinsmore, who tore his ACL before the season.
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