Over the last few years, Honokaa has seen its number of players drop considerably but the boys soccer team has somehow managed to stay competitive season after season. The Dragons have managed to qualify for the HHSAA state tournament the last two years, reaching the finals in 2014 and the semifinals in 2015 when they beat Kailua in overtime after falling down 2-0 in the first half.
This year, Honokaa will once again lack depth but that does not mean the team is expecting anything less than a top four finish in the BIIF Division II regular season and a playoff berth.
“We probably have only 12 or 13 kids with soccer experience on the team but the kids we do have can play,” said head coach Maurice Miranda. “I am confident we will make the playoffs as long as everyone stays healthy.”
Miranda believes that Hawaii Preparatory Academy is the team to beat in the division, followed by Makua Lani and Kamehameha-Hawaii.
“Kamehameha is rebuilding but Mario Patino has been around a while and knows how to rejuvenate a program so he will probably put it together,” Miranda said. “And then there is us. We will be like the kid who nobody invited to the party but we are coming anyways. I expect us to be there at the end.”
The 2015-16 version of the Dragons will be led by a core group of seniors that include Zechariah Ugalde, Kyle Ohta, Rylee Yagong, Andy Connors and Juan Pablo Pigott.
Ugalde and Ohta are both four-year varsity players. Ugalde is the team’s returning sweeper and central defender. He started every game last year and is a vocal leader on the field. Ohta is a big, tall kid that will play midfield.
“He has the fastest feet on the team and is very calm with the ball,” Miranda said. “I would like to see him play more aggressive with his size. He is one of those kids that makes everything look easy.”
The Connors family has a history of winning at Honokaa. Andy’s brothers — Robert and Tony — have both won championships with the Dragons. Andy Connors will play midfield this year.
Pigott wraps up the senior returns. He came to Hawaii from Columbia and made his Honokaa debut last year. He will play forward.
“He has some knowledge of the game and is working on his touch,” Miranda said. “He has good speed.”
Also returning are juniors Kauiki Feliciano and Sean Simmerman. Simmerman will play forward and Feliciano will take the center midfield slot.
“Both are really good players with great attitudes,” Miranda said.
The sophomore class is led by Keaweiwi Pilayo, Micah Miranda, Levi Higa and Isaac Aguilar. Higa is a roper, who the team calls their “cowboy.” He can strike with either foot, but is still growing into his body. Micah Miranda is the the head coach’s grand-nephew.
“He is a bigger guy, and very intense,” Maurice Miranda said.
Aguilar, at 6-foot-2 with a shoe size of 14, will be the team’s keeper.
“He was a little awkward last year as a freshman and he took his licks, but that is to be expected,” Miranda said. “Now he is playing like a veteran.”
Miranda added that he hopes to develop another keeper so that he can get Aguilar out of the pitch more.
The team had nine freshman try out this year, with only two players previously having soccer experience. One of those players was Daneau Domingo, who has a good shot at starting, or at least picking up a lot of minutes on the pitch. Domingo, like Connors, is the third of three brothers to play for the Dragons. The last Domingo brother to play for Honokaa was David Domingo in 2002. Daneau Domingo will play midfield.
“We have a good group of guys who are working hard to get better every day with no attitudes or prima donnas,” Miranda said. “I really like this team and I think they have the work ethic that will take them a long way.”