Seabury reaches soccer semis

Living up to its No. 1 seed, Seabury Hall eased into today’s semifinals of the state boys Division-II soccer tournament with a decisive 3-0 victory over Honokaa yesterday.

The Spartans, who captured the unofficial MIL overall title by posting a 10-1-1 mark despite its small-school status, will face fourth-seeded Kapaa of Kauai in a 3 p.m. match today at the Waipio Soccer Complex.

Seabury struck early and often, scoring all of its goals in the first half.   Freshman Willy Harris struck in the 14th minute, with Kevan Blount scoring in the 31st and Jacob Sandoval in the 32nd.

A victory over Kapaa, which advanced with a 3-0 win of its own at the expense of Waialua, would enabled Seabury to reach the final against the winner of the match between second-seeded HPA and Mid-Pacific.

Things didn’t turn out nearly as well for MIL D-I winner Kamehameha-Maui, which never recovered after conceding a goal just 15 seconds into the match in an eventual 4-0 loss to Kapolei.

King Kekaulike bounced back from an opening 3-1 loss to Kalaheo with a 2-1 consolation bracket victory over Kaiser with Logan Bantilan accounting for both Na Alii goals.

Kamehameha meets meets Roosevelt today while Kekaulike will play for seventh place against Moanalua on Saturday.

Both of Sunday’s finals will be televised OC-16.

TEIXEIRA INVITED:  The opening of major-league spring training camps is right around the corner and we knew that two players from the Valley Isle would be in attendance.

They are, of course, center fielder Shane Victorino of the reigning World Series-champion Philadelphia Phillies and catcher Kurt Suzuki of the Oakland Athletics.

But we now can add another name to the list.  Reliever Kanekoa Teixeira has been invited to the big-league camp of the New York Yankees, who acquired the hard-throwing right-hander as part of an off-season trade with the Chicago White Sox.

Although his chances of sticking with the big club are remote, it’s still a great opportunity for Teixeira – who has pitched well at every stop during a brief minor-league career — to make a positive  impression with the team’s on-field and front-office staffs.

WIE STARTS WELL:  Michelle Wie got off to an impressive start in the SBS Open, a season-opening event behind held at Turtle Bay on Oahu’s North Shore.

The now 19-year-old Wie birdied the final three holes for a 6-under 66 to gain a share of second place in her debut as a full-fledged member of the LPGA Tour.

Wie and 2008 rookie of the year Yani Tseng were one stroke back of Angela Stanford, who shot a bogey-free 65 to take the first-round lead.