Urs Leuenberger’s Kealakehe squads know a bit about winning. During the veteran head coach’s tenure with the Waveriders, that’s been nearly all they have done.
Kealakehe has won the last four BIIF titles — and seven since 2008 — while not dropping a game to a league opponent in the last three years. Last season, the Waveriders outscored opponents a whopping 86-7.
But despite all that success, the Waveriders don’t’ appear even a tad bit lackadaisical in their preparation to capture yet another BIIF title.
“These boys definitely still have the hunger to win,” Leuenberger said. “They know how fun it is to play when you win and everything is coming together and clicking.”
Kealakehe returns an experienced fleet of players on a 24-man roster, including seven seniors and 11 juniors. Among those are returning BIIF Division I Player of the Year Laukoa Santos, and fellow All-BIIF selections Josh Lopez, Ari Mench, James Caudell, Jonah Palakiko and goalkeeper Greyson Moore.
“It is an extremely powerful and experienced roster,” Leuenberger said. “There is tremendous depth, and it’s fantastic to see how these boys come together and gel.”
If the preseason is a measuring stick for how the year might go, the Waverider’s streak of overwhelming Big Island opponents has a good chance to continue.
In three preseason tests, the Waveriders have outscored opponents 12-0, notching shutout wins against Konawaena (6-0), Hawaii Preparatory Academy (3-0) and Pearl City (3-0).
The win against the Chargers, of the OIA, came at the 44th Annual Ka Makani Soccer Classic on Friday. The Waveriders controlled the ball for the majority of the game, and had at least a dozen golden scoring opportunities.
“The boys played very smart and did a lot of what we told them to do — keeping the ball on the ground and not overdoing it with big passes” Leuenberger said.
Among the few new additions to the roster is Kolby Martin, who tallied a goal in the Waveriders win on Friday. Martin — who also kicked for the football team — was an All-BIIF selection at Konawaena last season. Tate Whitney and Santos recorded the other goals for the ‘Riders.
“They are listening and our coaching staff of John Yates and Thor Stensby and really buying in,” Leuenberger said. “This game was a step up from our previous two games. We are marching on.”
What has Leuenberger excited is a big back line that features all six-footers, anchored by Mench and Caudell. That flexibility opened up the opportunity to move sophomore Matt Castro into a “target man” role.
“He is a threat,” Leuenberger said of Castro. “He is a big guy who can stick it in the net. In that 4-5-1, he is our target man.”
Something on Kealakehe’s to-do list is garnering success at the state level. Last season, the Waveriders earned the No. 3 seed and a first-round bye, but fell to Punahou 4-1 in the quarterfinals.
But just like any great program, Kealakehe is taking it one step at a time.
“Obviously, we are going game by game and the BIIF championship is always the goal,” Leuenberger said. “If we want a good seeding at states we know we have to do that, but we are extremely optimistic to get to states and hopefully make an impact there.”
Kealakehe will continue play at the Ka Makani Soccer Classic today, taking on a tough Mid-Pacific squad that knocked off Honokaa 5-1.