LIHU‘E — The bracketologists seem to have gotten this one right. No. 1 will take on No. 2 today as the second-seeded Kapa‘a Warriors advanced to the championship match of the JN Automotive Group/HHSAA Boys Soccer Division II tournament, coming
LIHU‘E — The bracketologists seem to have gotten this one right.
No. 1 will take on No. 2 today as the second-seeded Kapa‘a Warriors advanced to the championship match of the JN Automotive Group/HHSAA Boys Soccer Division II tournament, coming through with a 2-1 overtime win over Hawai‘i Prep, Friday.
Hunter Rice-Hudson scored a penalty kick just minutes into the first overtime period, sending the rest of the Warriors sprinting onto the field in celebration.
The Warriors (13-0) selected their defensive captain to take the kick, which had been set up by Max Goode. Goode won a ball sent up to him and took off towards the goal, turning in the box and getting taken down, drawing the whistle.
Rice-Hudson’s converted PK in the 82nd minute now places Kapa‘a into today’s title match against No. 1 seed Honoka‘a, which came back from an early deficit to notch a 2-1 win over St. Anthony, Friday.
The championship is set to kick off at 5 p.m., broadcast live on OC 16.
It will take place at the Waipi‘o Soccer Complex Main Stadium on O‘ahu.
The two teams are familiar with one another, as Honoka‘a (10-2-2) eliminated Kapa‘a from last season’s Division II tournament. The two squads met in the semifinals, with Honoka‘a — the No. 3 seed in that bracket — knocking off the second-seeded Warriors, 2-0.
Honoka‘a then lost the championship to Mid-Pacific, 4-0.
Kapa‘a head coach Kevin Cram said after Friday’s win that his team is looking forward to today’s big stage.
“It’s more excitement than nerves,” he said. “They’re the ones who beat us in the semis last year, so it’s a chance to match up against a team we know. It’s a revenge match for us.”
After a scoreless first half against HPA, Kapa‘a got on the board first when Kaua‘i Interscholastic Federation Player of the Year Kanoa Nartatez scored in the 53rd minute.
The Warriors played the ball up toward the far end of the field and in to Daniel Alonzo, a freshman who was called up from the junior varsity squad. He passed back to Taylor Langstaff, who then sent the cross to Nartatez, who finished to put Kapa‘a ahead 1-0.
Kapa‘a held HPA (7-6-2) at bay until the very late stages, when Malachi Kobayashi finally broke through with the equalizer in the 74th minute. The Warriors were whistled for a foul about six yards outside the box. The ensuing free kick went in towards goal and was deflected, when Kobayashi found the net with a header.
The tie score sent the match into overtime, using “golden goal” format, meaning the first team to score wins.
It didn’t take long for Kapa‘a to strike.
Cram said he felt his team had control for much of the match, unable to capitalize on a few other scoring opportunities it had created.
The 24-player team is stocked with upperclassmen, who Cram thinks will be ready to take on the challenge today’s final presents.
“Business as usual,” he said, regarding his team’s mentality and strategy. “I think we’ve got a good setup and lots of experience with 16 seniors. We don’t, at this point, plan on changing up anything.”
The head coach said that he believes forward Lowen Gonzales, who had to sit out the semifinal match with an injury, will be available for today’s title match.
After going down 1-0 on a Brandon Ramos goal (17’) to give St. Anthony the lead, Honoka‘a got goals from Josh Robinson (25’) and Robert Connors (31’), before a scoreless second half secured the result and a berth in the finals.
St. Anthony and HPA will play at 1 p.m. in the Main Stadium for third place.
Division I
Kaiser made the day’s biggest splash as it grabbed a spot in the Div. I championship match with a win over No. 1 seed Kamehameha-Kapalama.
The match went to penalty kicks after two scoreless overtime periods, with Kaiser (13-2-2) edging out the 3-2 win, going 7-6 in penalties.
Caleb Keb scored both Kaiser goals (5’, 47’). Kalai Hanohano had the first equalizer in the 35th minute, with Kona Gaison tying things up for Kapalama (8-1-2) again in the 61st minute.
No. 2 Kapolei (11-5-1) and Punahou (9-2-1) played in Friday night’s final match to determine the second participant in the Div. I championship.
Results from that match were unavailable at press time.
The D-I title match will be shown on OC 16 following the D-II match. Kick-off time is scheduled for 7 p.m. at the Waipi‘o Soccer Complex Main Stadium.
Kapalam will face the loser of the Kapolei-Punahou match in today’s third-place match, kicking off at 3 p.m. in the Main Stadium.
Consolation brackets
Konawaena (8-3-3) picked up a 2-1 win over Waipahu (7-4-1) on a pair of Kaleo Ruedy goals, the second coming in the 79th minute.
Mid-Pacific (3-8-1) was a 4-0 winner over Radford (7-4-3) with two goals from Harlan Blue-Pierce (29’, 70’) and one apiece from John Hyland (73’) and Aiden Shin (76’).
Konawaena and Mid-Pac will now play for fifth place in Div. II at 3 p.m. on Field 9.
Landon Ouchi scored the match’s only goal in the 42nd minute as Mililani (13-3-2) beat King Kekaulike (8-5-1) to move on to today’s fifth-place match in Div. I.
It will take on Hilo (15-2-1), which was a 2-1 winner over Baldwin (7-4-4). Mikah Hatcher had the game-winner in the 54th minute to break the 1-1 tie. Will Black (1’) also scored for Hilo, while Xavier Leon (50’) had the Baldwin goal.
The Mililani-Hilo match is at 3 p.m. on Field 8.
Waiakea and Roosevelt will play on Field 7 at 3 p.m. in the D-I consolation final.
