Kapa‘a to face No. 1 Seabury Hall in state semis

Caleb Sarsona scored in the first half and Ikaika Fuerte scored in the second as No. 4 Kapa‘a defeated Kailua 3-0 on Thursday in the quarterfinals of the JN Automotive/Hawai‘i High School Athletic Association’s Boys Division II State Soccer Championships at the Waipi‘o Peninsula Soccer Park.

The third and final goal was an own goal by a Kailua Surfrider off a corner kick. There was a 20-minute downpour in the second half and according to Kapa‘a head coach Kevin Cram, that made the field conditions slippery and hard to play on. Cram said Kailua’s defender just couldn’t get a handle on the ball and instead of clearing it on the corner kick, it went straight into the top of the net.

The HHSAA awarded credit for the goal to Glenn Miguel.

“(Kailua) had a lot of quick players,” Cram said, who compared the Surfriders style of play to that of Kaua‘i High School. “There was a lot of contact, but it wasn’t a dirty game by any means. It was pretty physical but that’s the nature of the game.”

Kapa‘a (8-0-1) is making its third consecutive appearance at the state championships. Last year, the then unranked Warriors advanced all the way to the finals — the first ever Division II final for boys soccer. They lost to No. 2 Mid-Pac in a penalty shootout.

The Warriors now advance to play top-ranked Seabury Hall (11-1-1), who on Thursday beat Honoka‘a, 3-0.

Cram said the fact that Seabury is ranked No. 1 isn’t a factor. The Warriors played the Spartans twice in the preseason and fared well. Mixing the varsity and junior varsity for the preseason matches, Kapa‘a lost 1-0 and tied the last meeting 1-1.

No. 2 Hawai‘i Prep and unranked Mid-Pac also advanced to the semifinals. Hawai‘i Prep beat Kamehameha Schools Hawai‘i 3-2 and Mid-Pac upset No. 3 Waialua 6-1.

The winners of Friday’s matches will meet for the championship on Saturday.