The Face who stood out in the crowd

The state didn’t know what hit it.

Before Kamehameha defended its top seed and beat ‘Iolani for the girls state championship last month, even the most enthusiastic soccer coaches would have had a problem naming more than three of the Warriors starters.

After picking up a new hero every day, faceless Kamehameha had a state crown and more than a few stars who were good enough to compete with all-star squads at ‘Iolani and Mililani.

The face of faceless Kamehameha became forward Carly Neal, a speedy runner who got All-State honorable mention last season. Neal switched between forward and midfield all season, scoring 13 goals in 10 games. She was a consistent threat from start to finish, piling on with a hat trick in a 10-0 win over St. Francis. You can throw that one out, though.

"I would rather score the goals that had more meaning and counted more than score a bunch of goals that didn’t really mean much," Neal said. "I’d rather score the ones that make a huge impact than just score a lot."

Neal’s efforts made her the Star-Advertiser’s choice for player of the year after consultation with coaches.

Neal didn’t score every important goal during the Warriors’ march to their first title since 2008, but she did have a hand — or foot — in every one. There are some offensive threats that you have to account for. It is not hard to know where Neal is.

"Wherever the ball is, she is going to be there," Mililani coach Ray Akiona said. "She’s so smart, she reads the game well and anticipates plays."

Neal ran the field to bring her team back from a 2-0 deficit after just 16 minutes against Kamehameha-Maui in the first round of the state tournament and scored the game-winner. Tia Kinilau had a hat trick in that game, but Neal ran the show.

"I started to doubt myself, but I knew I couldn’t do that because people look up to me and the rest of the seniors on the team," Neal said. "All teams need a strong leader. When nobody seems to believe, they need someone who does believe, and I am that person. I believed."

Now faceless Kamehameha has a face. Shaney Sakamoto, Vanessa Cabilan and Summer Burnett join Neal on the first team for the state champs. Ashley Asuncion, Kinilau and Sarah Davis made the second team and their biggest hero in the state tournament, freshman Kawai Makue, earned honorable mention, along with Kayla Mizo.

"We had people who would come off the bench and make the team even better than the starting lineup sometimes," Neal said. "All these different options, all of these different attacks (were) a strength for us. We didn’t really have a weak link."

Neal will move on to play for Texas-San Antonio in the fall.

Missy Moore is the coach of the year after stepping into the top spot for the first time this season and molding all of her young talent into a champion.

‘Iolani matched Kamehameha with four players on the first team, putting Kama Pascua, Twyla Hamasaki, Taylor Kipilii and Lexi Felix. All four might be the best player in the state at their positions.

Pascua came into the season as the one player to watch, easily the best goal scorer in the state and the one player you do not want to be stuck one-on-one with, especially since the best keeper in the state, maybe the only keeper who could stop her consistently, wears ‘Iolani red.

Among Felix, Kipilii, Amanda McCaskill and Hamasaki, every goal against the Raiders was a cause for celebration.

"They all have such high work ethic," Moore said. "You really have to be on your game just to stay in the game with them. Taylor reads the game better than anyone I’ve seen and the growth Lexi showed since her freshman season has been a joy to watch. She had a terrific senior season."

But in the end, Kamehameha had Neal surrounded by young talent and shook off a surprising loss to Castle in preseason that Neal said had her "crying for days" but made her team better.

"She is an amazing competitor," Moore said. "She was everywhere, an offensive threat who tracks back on her man to provide defensive help. She is one of the few in the state that you have to know where she is at all times."

The OIA got the other three spots on the first team, with Mililani taking two. Trojans sophomore TJ Reyno missed a good chunk of the regular season and moved to the midfield to cover for other injuries but made the Trojans the OIA’s top scoring attack, and defender Kristen Fujinaga organized a defense that had 10 shutouts and came back to blank Moanalua for third place in the state without starting keeper Lauren Ishii.

Na Menehune’s Storm Kenui rounded out the first team after carrying Moanalua to the OIA title and scoring 28 goals the past two years. She was also first team in 2011.