The tsunami disasters that hit the Pacific nations last year was bad news in more ways than one for Samoa, Tonga and America Samoa.
As well as the destruction and heartbreak they have had to come to terms with, their women's under-20 soccer teams face an even bigger hurdle when the Oceania Championship kicks off at North Harbour Stadium today.
The tournament, originally scheduled for October of last year, was postponed in the aftermath of the devastation to give the teams time to prepare.
Ready and raring to go is Tongan goalkeeper Vaisioa Niukapu.
In her eighth season, Niukapu, 19, is one of her country's most talented sportswomen. She has shone in athletics, tennis and netball but insists soccer is her first love.
She helped Tonga to win a silver medal at the 2006 Under-20 Oceania Championships in Samoa but a year later tossed away her goalkeeping gloves to play as a defender at the South Pacific Games.
Tonga plays the Cook Islands in today's late game after New Zealand have played American Samoa in the tournament opener.
All games are being played on the artificial surface at North Harbour Stadium.
Last year the Oceania Football Confederation (OFC) put together a list of profiles featuring individuala from around the pacific expected to be key players at todays OFC Under 20 Women's Championship. Niukapu was part of the chosen few.
Name: Vaisioa Niukapu 
Profession: Athlete
Full Name: Mele Vaisioa Niukapu
Date of Birth: May 8 1990, (age: 19)
Place of Birth: Ha’apai
Height: 174m
Playing Position: Goal Keeper
Current Club: Kaimai Glamour Girls
Football Years: 7 years
Favourite Soccer Star: Martha Vieira da Silva.
Favourite Colour: Red
Nickname: Sioa
NATIONAL TEAM
2006 – OFC U-20 World Cup Qualifiers (Samoa) Silver
2007 – OFC Senior Women’s Qualifiers (Papua New Guinea) 3rd
2007 – South Pacific Games (Samoa) Silver medal
SPECIAL AWARDS
TFA Scholarship – 2006, 2007, 2008.
Tonga U-20 Women’s goalkeeper Vaisioa Niukapu is a multi talented young sportswoman proudly focusing her natural sporting ability on football.
Niukapu’s first taste of football came in her final year of primary schooling in the Tongan Football Association's (TFA) 2003 Primary Schools competition where she represented Nukualofa Primary school.
She continued her academic and football education at Tonga High School where she also participated in variety of other sports including athletics, tennis and netball. Niukapu credits these other sporting interests with having a great impact on her physical and mental toughness.
Despite all these other sporting interests, Niukapu remained most passionate about football and is determined to fashion a career in the beautiful game. She nominates popular England football star David Beckham and highly respected female international players Martha Vieira da Silva (Brazil) and Mia Hamm (USA) as her favourite footballing role models.
Niukapu first gained national representative selection as goalkeeper for the 2006 OFC U-20 World Cup Qualifiers tournament in Samoa, an event where Tonga won silver. Being multi-skilled, the following year she gained her second national cap in the OFC Women’s Championship Papua New Guinea 2007 as a defender, a position she retained in the 2007 South Pacific Games hosted by Samoa (where the Tonga also won the silver medal).
These exposures undoubted gained her much needed experience which no doubt will come in handy as she prepares for OFC U-20 World Cup qualifiers in New Zealand.
After only recently rehabilitating from a knee injury, Niukapu has passed her physical fitness test with flying colours and will be a key contributor as Tonga’s first choice goal keeper. In the 2009 TFA Major League competition Niukapu kept an admirable record of averaging less than one goal conceded per match.
Source: New Zealand Herald and OleOle.com