By Tony Hollingsworth

It's 4:20 a.m. in the Pascua household and there is a mad dash for the bathroom. Kama just beat out her older sister Krystal to get to the shower. This is a typical morning for the University of Hawai'i Rainbow Wahine soccer standouts who live with 16 relatives in Waipahu; an experience that they would not trade for the world and one that lays the groundwork for their chemistry on and off the field.

In most families, there is always a sibling rivalry, and that rivalry often intensifies when sports are involved, especially coming from an athletically gifted family like the Pascuas. Older brother Bryson excelled at track and field, while older sister Charae was invited to the Olympic Training Center for wrestling, Two younger brothers, the girls say, might be the most athletic out of the bunch.

However, for the Pascua sisters, the term sibling rivalry couldn't be further away from the truth. "We are like best friends, every minute we have free we spend with each other," said Krystal the junior midfielder. Her sister, Kama, who's a freshman forward, echoes that sentiment: "We don't really have a competition, we just go out there to perform our best and whatever happens, happens."

Kama and Krystal, are the third set of sisters to play soccer together at UH. Krystal, one of the top players for UH the last three years and a 2012 All-Big West Conference selection, currently leads the team in assists. Kama, meanwhile, has emerged as an impact player as a true freshman. She leads the team in shots on goal and is second in goals scored. Earlier this year, the tandem provided one of the team's most dramatic moments of the season when Krystal fed Kama for a goal late in regulation against Cal Poly to force overtime.

It seems that the only yellow card that was pulled between the two of them is when Kama moved out of her sisters room. "It was too messy, there were clothes everywhere. I had to have my own space" she stated.

Even the thought of playing against each other makes the two take a pause. "We have never played against each other. If we were on different club teams they would combine the two and call it the Dream Team," said Kama. When asked what it would have been like if Kama would have chosen another school besides UH and they had to play each other Krystal could barely imagine it. "I support her in whatever she does, but I am glad she chose to stay" said Krystal.

On the other hand, the thought never crossed Kama's mind. "I couldn't do it; I need my family there to support me. It wouldn't be the same without my sister," replied Kama. "Even when we had camp, and we were in the dorms I was homesick. I like my home more. It's a better environment with home cooked meals and a support system."

This attitude of clairvoyance is what makes the sisters so special. It's their ability to not only see what is on the soccer field but to understand what is important beyond it—the value of education and the love of one's family.
Krystal has had a G.P.A. over 3.0 consistently and understands that there is life beyond the soccer field. "Academics are the most important," she said. "I love the idea of families. I want to become a sonogram technician and aid expecting mothers."  Just like soccer, Kama is taking up the same major in family resources like her older sister.

It's their parents, Brian and Ginger Pascua, whom they credit for being in the positions they are in today. "Our parents threw us in every sport growing up. Basketball, volleyball, kickboxing, track, but it was soccer that we had a passion for," said Krystal. That passion has grown into a dynamic force on the field and a source of pride for both sisters. "When I was younger, I might have hated how hard my parents pushed me but now I realize it was to make me a stronger, independent person," Krystal said with an air of confidence.

"Whenever someone in the family needs help, my parents look out for them. That's the quality that I want to have when I am older. I want to be the person that people within and outside of my family can turn to whenever they need something," said Krystal.

Her sister feels the exact same way, crediting both Krystal and her parents for the woman she has become.  "The most influential people in my life are my parents and my sister," said Kama," Krystal always pushes me to do better in everything that I participate in.  And my parents, they are the type of people who never let us give up and are always supportive. I am thankful for that because without it I wouldn't be where I am now, here at UH with a soccer scholarship" said Kama.

Both understand the responsibilities of being a role model to a younger generation of family members and soccer players.

"I've always wanted to come to UH," said Krystal "I was a ball girl when I was younger looking up to Natasha Kai and Joelle Sugai. It's a little weird when you have girls coming up to you after the games asking for autographs. We used to be those girls and now we are in the position to encourage them."

Like most things with the Pascua sisters, they use what could be seen as pressure to help motivate them.  "After a loss it's reassuring to know that those girls still look up to you and that helps us shake off any negativity," Kama said.

One day, the sisters hope to take their own daughters to the UH soccer games. "We want to live next to each other when we are older and raise families together," said Krystal. "We are going to work out, we are going to go to zumba classes, yoga, and take walks on the playground with our kids," Kama added.

It's no doubt that the future of the Pascua family bond will hold strong far beyond the soccer field, but for now the two sisters will enjoy one of the things that have kept them so close over the years, soccer and each other.