Any preseason conversation about Hawaii Prep’s boys soccer’s team inevitably centered around all Ka Makani had lost to graduation.
Coach James Berry didn’t deny it would be hard to replace 13 seniors, but he had a qualifier.
Name a former standout player, and Berry would say, “This year, we’re fortunate to have ….”
One newcomer was senior Grayson Phillips, who turned into the team’s “glue,” his coach said, and another was Spaniard Daniel Vidal Gayoso, who developed a timely knack for scoring goals.
Any team, meanwhile, would be fortunate to return a powerhouse like Conor Hunt.
Such is how a multidivisional BIIF dynasty was built.
HPA dropped back down to Division II this season after a two-year venture in D-I, but Hunt noted Ka Makani pride never wavered a bit after they beat Makua Lani 3-1 on a gusty Saturday at their home field to claim their fifth consecutive BIIF championship.
“I’m proud to prove everybody wrong,” said Hunt, who was responsible for two goals. “They said we weren’t going to have a good season. I heard a lot of that. Maybe they’ll get second, maybe they’ll third.”
The hardest player to replace from the 2019 D-I champion was center back Sihkea Jim, who Berry basically said did the work of two men. Ka Makani found capable replacements in Phillips, the son of school headmaster Patrick Phillips, and freshman Noah Condon.
“This team bonded really quick,” Hunt said. “We have a great tradition here, unlike any school, really. I’m just proud to be on this team.”
Hunt, who played three seasons at HPA after moving from Kauai, could pursue college soccer opportunities, but he’s instead heading to Georgetown to be a place-kicker on the football team.
“I’m scared that team’s not going to be like this,” he said. ‘That’s how good it is here.”
Gayoso bought in. He moved the United States to learn English, first stopping in Colorado last year, and in his first season in Waimea he’s quickly learned Ka Makani way.
After both teams had their moments in the first half, Gayoso redirected a pass from Phillips to score the match’s first goal in the 48th minute.
“This team is perfect,” Gayoso said. “Soccer is a lot different here. It’s a religion in Spain. Here, the level is pretty good, too.”
HPA (10-3) won the past two D-II state tournaments it entered in 2016 and 2017, and it earned a seeded berth to this year’s tournament, which runs Feb. 13-15 at Oahu’s Waipio Peninsula Soccer Complex. The Lions (9-4), the BIIF runner-up for the second consecutive season, also have a spot in the eight-team field.
“Three more games to go and the goal is to win states,” Hunt said.
Isaiah Easley corralled a pass from Stevan Perino and scored for Makua Lani with about five minuets remaining to cut the deficit to 2-1, but Hunt quickly answered, taking advantage of a defensive miscues.
That wasn’t the only snafu Lions coach Teva Beatty detected.
“We scored three times on ourselves,” Beatty said after the school’s title drought was extended to a 13th season.
Defensively, HPA did a good job of clogging the field to keep the Lions from getting the ball to their strikers.
“Honestly, they were pressing us pretty hard,” Beatty said. “We had a hard time finding each other in the press.
“Going forward, we’ll focus on our composure.”
Hunt and Gayoso credited Berry with always making the right adjustments at halftime by keeping things simple, and the second-year coach also helped set the tempo before the match.
“During warmups, you could sense tension was building,” Berry said. “We stopped to say calm down, decompress.
“One of my favorite coaches said, “You play soccer, you don’t work it. This is still just a game.”
Boosted by faces old and new, it’s a game HPA continues to win. Fortune is still smiling its way.
“Conor is the epitome of that attitude,” Berry said. “He just smiles.”
