Max Moonier scored seven minutes into overtime to lift Punahou over ‘Iolani 1-0 in the Division I final of The Queen’s Medical Center/HHSAA Boys Soccer State Championships on Saturday night.

It was the 21st title and first since 2017 for the Buffanblu (12-1-2) in the 45 years of the tournament.

Moonier’s goal came after he intercepted a clearing attempt by ‘Iolani from 18 yards out and sent a blistering shot into the top left corner.

“It wasn’t the best clearance and I saw it coming,” Moonier said. “It was one of things where I took it off the chest and once I hit it I knew it was going in. It’s something I felt like I’ve done before. This is a great accomplishment. We went to extra time yesterday and again today. We had a bunch of hurt players, but we stuck with it.”

‘Iolani (13-3-1) came up short in its bid to capture a 10th state championship. The Raiders also finished behind Punahou in the ILH season, going 0-2-1 against the Buffanblu previously, including a 4-1 loss in the league title game.

Regulation time went scoreless Saturday, with both teams putting on heavy offensive pressure in the high-intensity all-ILH matchup at Waipio Peninsula Soccer Stadium.

Prior to the winning goal, Punahou had the best scoring chance of the night, when Dominic Gusman drove down the middle and sent a pretty pass to Jacob Moore on the right wing. Moore one-touched it and then unleashed a missile that somehow ‘Iolani defender Brandon Suzuki came from behind to slide in front of the ball to block it.

Moonier didn’t waste his chance to capitalize on the Raiders’ clearing mistake in overtime.

“A beautiful goal,” Buffanblu coach David Trifonovitch said. “It’s significant because Max has been been such a team leader for the last three years. He’s played outstanding the last couple of years. This year, he had the extra pressure of being a senior and a captain on his shoulders. He did simple things to keep us going, but he didn’t have the moments that he had in the last few years. So that moment to put the cherry on top is huge for all of us. He’s led us for that long. It was appropriate.”

Punahou was without one of its top defenders, Trayden Buder-Nakasone, who was hurt in the Buffanblu’s 3-2 semifinal win over Mililani that was decided on penalty kicks Friday. Gusman was also hurt in that game, but played in the final with a strained MCL.

‘Iolani was coming off a grueling 3-2 comeback win over Kapolei and got close to taking it all.

“They (the Raiders) played fantastic in this tournament,” Trifonovitch said. “Any time you play a team four times and you’ve had success in three of them, you can go in complacent or overconfident. They struggled early this season and they gave us a game that could have gone either way at any time. I was nervous. Kudos to their coaching staff for that.”

Said ‘Iolani coach Chris Lee: “The fans were treated to a really exciting game. Both teams didn’t give in and neither team was dominating the whole game. It was back and forth the whole way, fighting for everything.”