Natasha
Kai
Olympian 2008
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GOLD
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SILVER
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BRONZE
Athlete Bio#
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Height
5?8 (1.72 m)
Age
41
Hometown
Kahuku
Education
Became the first player in WAC history to earn three Player of the Year awards and First-Team All-Conference honors all four seasons while playing for the University of Hawaii ... Scored 15 goals with four assists as a senior ... One of the top offensive players in the nation during her career, she owns the WAC career shots record (446) and is second in goals (72) and points (162) ... She finished her college career with 72 goals in 73 matches ... Voted the team's MVP and Most Outstanding Striker as a sophomore, junior and senior ... As a junior, she led the team in scoring with a team-high 12 goals, while adding five assists ... Seven of her goals were game-winners, including three in overtime ... Suffered a broken collarbone in waning minutes of UH's finale against Tulsa in the WAC Tournament ... As a sophomore, she led the nation in goals scored (29) and set or tied 13 new school and conference records, including UH records for goals in a match (5 vs. Morehead St.), and season (29) ... Scored seven game-winning goals and also scored a goal in nine straight matches ... Scored multiple goals in eight matches, including four hat tricks ... Got four goals vs. Nevada, tying the WAC record for goals in a conference match ... As a freshman, she completed record-breaking rookie campaign by setting or tying eight school records, three freshman records, and four conference records ... Named WAC Player of the Year and Freshman of the Year, becoming the first player in conference history to accomplish the feat ... A 2001 graduate of Kahuku High School in Kahuku, Oahu, she was regarded as perhaps the top female high school athlete in the state ... Earned four letters each in soccer and track, two in volleyball and one each in basketball and cross country ... A two-time Oahu Interscholastic Association soccer all-star ... Earned All-State and Gatorade Player of the Year honors her senior season ... Led the Red Raiders to the division title her senior season, the first title in the school's history ... Voted to the OIA East first team in volleyball her senior season and earned OIA first team and all-state second team honors in basketball her senior season ... A two-time state champion and record holder in the 300 hurdles ... Also captured state titles in the 110 hurdles, high jump and long jump. University of Hawaii
2008: Won Gold medal at the Olympic Games in Beijing, China ... Has scored goals at a rapid clip heading into the Peace Queen Cup in June, bagging 10 in nine games ... Scored against Denmark in the championship game of the 2008 Algarve Cup ... Scored four goals in Olympic qualifying, two against Mexico in front of a sell-out crowd in Ciudad Juarez, Mexico, and two more against Costa Rica in the victory that qualified the USA for the 2008 Olympic Games ... Notched her first career hat trick in a 6-0 win over Canada on May 10 in Washington, D.C. ...
2007: Played in 18 games, starting four ... Scored two goals with three assists during the year ... One of her goals came in a 2-0 win over China at the Four Nations Tournament, giving the USA the tournament title ... Was one of the final three players chosen to the 2007 U.S. Women's World Cup Team ... Saw brief action in three Women's World Cup matches ...
2006: Played in 17 games in her first year on the National Team, starting four ... Scored six goals, including two at the 2006 Algarve Cup ... She also scored against Japan, Ireland, Canada and Australia ... Her goal against the Matildas came in a 2-0 win at the Peace Cup in South Korea ...
Youth National Teams: First brought in with the U.S. U-21 Women's National Team in 2004, and was the leading scorer on the team with 12 goals, including six in international matches ... Helped lead the U-21s to the Nordic Cup title in Iceland, scoring three goals in the tournament including two against Germany ... Injured her shoulder in her final college game of 2004, then re-injured it again in her first U-21 camp of 2005, necessitating surgery, and did not get called into a U-21 camp again until January of 2006 ...
First Appearance: March 11, 2006, vs. Denmark ...
First Goal: March 11, 2006, vs. Denmark.
Quick Facts
- Full name is Natasha Kanani Janine Kai
- Nickname is "Tasha" or "TK"
- Majored in sociology
- Likes to surf, especially her home beach at the North Shore
- Likes to hang out with her friends, go dancing and spend time with her family
- Loves to travel and meet new people
- Has three younger brothers and two younger sisters
- Has 19 tattoos, by far the most ever for a WNT player
- Younger sister, Krisha, also played soccer at Hawaii
- Is a great aunt to her pride and joys, nephews Kaizen and Zylaher
- Likes to sing and takes after her father, Benny Kai, who is a professional singer at the Polynesian Cultural Center in Laie, Oahu.
