WAIMEA — Calm, cool and collected, the Hawaii Preparatory Academy soccer team slowly walked off the field, just as they would have in any other game, after beating visiting Kealakehe 6-1 on Saturday.
A couple of years ago, such a win might have elicited a bigger response, but these Ka Makani players expect to win, even when they are playing a Waverider squad who had not lost a league game since January 27, 2012.
Coming into the game against Hawaii Prep, Kealakehe had posted a 57-0-4 record in the league over their last 61 games, which included five BIIF titles.
“We have a good rivalry with Kealakehe and this win win feels good, but we know a lot of those guys so we don’t want to be cocky,” said Noah Wise, a senior defender and captain for HPA. “I am really happy with our performance. It was nice to get the lead early and get all of our players into the game. We have a lot of new young players and we all had a good time.”
The Waveriders were the aggressors early on in the game in Waimea, but as the first half neared an end, Ka Makani was clearly in control. Hawaii Prep led by three goals at the break.
Despite being on the defensive at the start of the game, Ka Makani managed to strike first, scoring a goal at the 10 minute mark off a through ball.
The play started with two HPA players sprinting down the middle of the pitch, followed closely by a pair of Kealakehe defenders. Seeing that Hawaii Prep had the edge on his defenders, Waverider keeper Skyler Troy Canario-Pavao came out of the net to try to stop the play, but the ball bounced behind him, allowing Chris Whitfield to score on an empty netter as a defender tried to close in from behind.
Over the next few minutes Kealakehe controlled most of the possession time, and had two good tries to tie the game, but a shot by Laukoa Santos went high and an attempt by Jon Takahashi went wide.
With 11:29 to play in the half, a foul by a Kealakehe defender on Hawaii Prep’s Mateo Batol set up a free kick in the center of the pitch and just outside the 18. Braden Kojima took the shot and curved the ball around the four man wall and just out of the reach of the diving Waverider keeper for a 2-0 advantage.
After the second goal, the game started to shift, with Hawaii Prep pushing the ball down field more and more. Four minutes after the second goal, Ka Makani scored again, this time off a shot by Riley Hiatt, which went off the keeper’s hands and the far post, before finding a spot in the back of the net.
Kealakehe picked up a goal with 4:24 on the clock. A foul inside the box allowed Santos, the two-time BIIF Player of the Year, a chance to step to the line. Santos made good on the opportunity, going bottom-right with the shot, which traveled just out of the reach of HPA keeper Stormer Horton.
Santos was dominant in the midfield despite the loss. However, his aggressive style of play resulted in a yellow card near the end of the half, which led to the fourth Ka Makani goal. The carded foul resulted in a free kick, which Hawaii Prep took advantage of when Jevon Flippin put the ball in off a header for a 4-1 lead at the break.
“The boys came out and executed everything we had been working on,” HPA coach Richard Braithwaite said. “We finished our first two or three chances and then everything changed.”
It took Ka Makani only two minutes in the second half to score the fifth goal. Toby Balaam broke free down the pitch and scored inside the box on a 1-on-1 with the keeper.
Hawaii Prep added its final goal with 19:58 to play when David Welch-Keliihoomalu received the ball off a cross, and put it in the back of the net. Canario-Pavao attempted to cut off the pass, leaving the goal open.
While the players stayed under control after the game, Braithwaite knew what the win meant to them and the program.
“This is a big win for us,” he said. “We were amped coming in and got as good of a result as we possibly could.”
As for Kealakehe, new coach Alden Sawada took the loss in stride and had a lot of respect for the Hawaii Prep squad.
“They are very hard working team that showed a lot of effort, a lot of skill and a lot of composure,” Sawada said. “This is life. Just when you think you are all good, something like this happens. We will work harder next week and start a new streak.”
Hawaii Prep 9, Kealakehe 0
In the opening match of the day, the Hawaii Prep girls earned an early weekend, down the visiting Lady Waveriders 9-0. Ka Makani was led by sophomore forward Emi Higgins, who recorded five goals.
“We are pretty dinged up and we needed to get some positive vibes going with a win today,” said HPA head coach Steve Perry. “Everyone who went in played well, and hopefully we are progressing.”
Higgins had a hat trick in the first half, then added the first and final goal in the second half. She scored from all over the pitch, finding the back of the net from long range and beating several defenders at a time to work inside the box.
“Emi is a threat everywhere. She has a good leg and can take you one 1-on-1,” Perry said. “It is actually pretty funny because at the half we weren’t really talking about the three goals she scored, we were talking about the four or five she missed. She is hard on herself.”
Also scoring for Hawaii Prep were Kahele Walsh, Rowan Kotner, Jenna Perry and Maia Mills.