Punahou wants to take advantage of a missed opportunity from two years ago.
Losing in the 2014 state championship is not a forgotten memory for Buffanblu players. Punahou has an opportunity to amend that in tonight’s Division I championship game after the Buffanblu beat Kamehameha-Maui 2-0 in Friday’s semifinals of The Queen’s Medical Center/HHSAA Boys Soccer State Championships at Waipio Peninsula Soccer Stadium.
Reo Nagai and Keenan Dung each scored a goal for the second-seeded Buffanblu (11-0-3), who will play Kapolei in the state final.
“We still have that in our memories,” Nagai said of the 2014 final. “We finally got to the championship again, so we got a great opportunity and we’re going to take it out and we’re going to win tomorrow.”
Punahou led 2-0 at halftime and spent the second half trying to possess the ball, keeping it away from the third-seeded Warriors (11-2-1) and playing mistake-free soccer. Nothing from Punahou’s usual style will change for tonight’s championship.
“We just got to go up and play our game,” said Punahou coach David Trifonovitch, who led the Buffanblu to state titles in 2010 and 2011. “We all go out and scout other teams and know what they have. We honestly feel if we play our game, we’ll be OK. It’s a matter of holding onto the ball, playing good, solid defense and taking advantage of the opportunities to get on goal.”
Nagai scored in the 19th minute to put the Buffanblu up 1-0. His goal started when Punahou goalkeeper Tyler Ohata smothered a shot from point-blank range. Ohata quickly got the ball back into play and the Buffanblu worked the ball to Nagai before the Warriors defense could settle in.
“At that point, all the opposing players were on our side of the field and we had a great counter-attacking play,” Nagai said. “I received the ball, I was kind of blessed because I was in position and I had a plan and it worked out.”
Dung’s header in the 33rd minute extended the lead to 2-0. Though down two scores, the Warriors believed they had a chance in the second half.
“Our game is to create opportunities,” said KS-Maui coach Kyle Herendeen. “We’re an attacking team, so being down two goals, it’s not the first time we’ve been in that position and we’ve been able to pull it out before.”
Kapolei 3, Kalani 1
Shandon Hopeau scored twice in the second half to help the Hurricanes (12-3-1) upset the top-seeded Falcons (14-1-0).
Sam Wren scored in the 65th minute to make it 3-0 as Kapolei, the OIA’s fourth-place team, will make its first state championship appearance.
Toshihiro Kosins scored in the 73rd minute for Kalani.
Consolation
Kealakehe 4, Baldwin 1
Kaiser 3, Radford 2
Mid-Pacific 2, Hilo 0 (consolation final)
Goal scorers—Kealakehe: John Takahashi (15), Laukoa Santos (32), Josh Lopez (36), Matthew Castro (56). Baldwin: Beirne Teshima (73). Kaiser: Makana Srivongsana (22, 62), Wyatt Kaneshiro (46). Radford: Michael Watson (9, 29).
