‘Hula’ dances around defenders, paces Gig Harbor High offense

When Leahi Manthei was about 10 years old, other girls her age — and even her coaches — sometimes had a hard time pronouncing her name. So one of her coaches started calling her “Hula,” a nod to her Hawaiian heritage. The name stuck.

For the record, the name of the Maui-born speedy junior forward for the Gig Harbor High School soccer team is pronounced “Lay-ah-he.” But Hula works, too.

“I think the name just fit me well and a lot of people didn’t want to take the time to remember my name,” Manthei said.

Manthei and her family moved to the mainland when she was 3 years old. Her interest in soccer started at a young age, and while she’s improved and grown since her first year with club team Washington Premiere, she still exploits opponents with her most valuable skill: her speed.

“I think I was born with it,” Manthei said. “I’ve always been faster. I’ve never really worked for it; I’ve just kind of had it.”

She was also gifted with a tenacious spirit and fiery competitiveness. Despite her size, the 5-foot-3 Manthei never shies away from contact.

“She brings a lot of passion and heart to the team,” Gig Harbor coach Stephanie Cox said. “Just with her commitment to tackles. She’s a really physical player. She’s not very big. She throws her body around and just brings a good spark to our attack.”

Manthei is one of several scoring threats for Gig Harbor, along with senior Joey Watermeyer and junior Kaysie Bruce, and others. The Tides are averaging nearly four goals per game.

“We have a lot of tricks up our sleeve with our offense,” said Manthei, who has a team-leading nine goals so far this season.

The chemistry has been solid early in the season for a team that lost some key pieces from last season, and features a new coach with Cox. Gig Harbor started its season with three tough non-league games, losing 5-1 to Curtis, 2-0 to Seattle Prep and earning a 1-1 draw with Puyallup.

“At the beginning of the season when we were having a hard time, Leahi was trying to do things a lot on her own,” Cox said. “But now, we’re seeing other options and she’s still scoring goals. Because the ball is spread more, things are a little easier.”

Cox likes what she sees so far during her first year.

“The back line, it definitely took a couple games to get going, but the good thing about high school soccer is there are a lot of games,” she said. “In practice, things can be pretty simple and they make those improvements. There’s a lot of communication going throughout the game. I think the chemistry is pretty good and the passing and how they’re looking for each other.”

This story was originally published September 30, 2015 at 9:47 AM with the headline "‘Hula’ dances around defenders, paces Gig Harbor High offense."