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Tommy Mascaro-Keahi scored three times and Kapolei blanked Kalani 5-0 for the Oahu Interscholastic Association Division I boys soccer championship on Saturday night at Kapolei Stadium.
Micah Ohara and Kawika Kelii also tallied goals for Kapolei (12-0-1), which repeated as league champion. Kalani (11-2-1) had won titles in 2016 and ’18 but saw its eight-match win streak end.
“It’s a new year. We had to reset. We’re getting to a place where they understand what’s expected in the culture,” Hurricanes co-head coach Ryan Lau said. “The will and the willingness to fight for each other where the team is the star.”
>> PHOTOS: Kalani vs. Kapolei
For Mascaro-Keahi, hat tricks aren’t common, and it’s not his vision of how Kapolei wins matches and titles. For the senior, it’s about the “brotherhood.”
“It’s the legacy for the boys we leave behind us. The team is the star. No one person makes our team,” he said. “The pyramid (of success) is how we approach our teams and the standards we hold ourselves to.”
He hadn’t scored three goals in a match since early preseason.
“Everyone plays a big role on our team,” Mascaro-Keahi said. “Honestly, when our team is driven to get something, we usually accomplish it. No disrespect to Kalani, but you have to come out with a certain intensity that I don’t think they had from the start.”
Mascaro-Keahi scored just six minutes into the contest. Ohara gave the Hurricanes a 2-0 lead, scoring on a pass from senior Cypress Navarro-Acio at the 24-minute mark.
One minute later, Mascaro-Keahi struck again with a header at the net. Kapolei led 3-0 at intermission. Kelii, a junior, scored on a free kick at the 58-minute mark.
With 13:13 left in the match, referees cleared the field after a skirmish. Kalani’s Jenson Fuse was injured on a play, and Kelii skipped off the field toward the bleachers, flexing. Kelii received a red card.
In the final three minutes, Mascaro-Keahi scored on a free kick to cap his hat trick.
Kapolei now has five OIA crowns, and three of them under co-head coaches Mark Ishii, Neal Sakaue and Lau.
From start to finish, the Hurricanes looked to explode in transition.
“In big games, everyone’s tough and really good defensively, especially if you allow them to get numbers back,” Lau noted. “Tonight, every time we won the ball, we put a lot of emphasis in transition. We got a lot of opportunities for Kawika and Tommy.”
No OIA team has won the D-I state championship since 2015, when Mililani took the trophy home.
“We don’t focus on this (OIA title) afterward. It’s a great accomplishment for us, but it’s not going to contribute to us winning at states. It’s an accolade,” Mascaro-Keahi said. “It’s good, but we’ve got to drop it and focus on what’s next.”
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