Elijah Dinkel’s powerful left leg came through three times Saturday and it allowed Kamehameha-Hawaii to repeat as state champions.
Poikeao Roback scored on a rebound of Dinkel’s shot in overtime as No. 1 seed Kamehameha-Hawaii beat No. 3 seed Pac-Five 3-2 in the final of the Motiv8 Foundation/HHSAA Boys Division II Soccer Championships at Waipio Peninsula Soccer Complex’s main stadium.
Dinkel fired a shot, which was saved by Wolfpack goalkeeper Ethan Lee. The ball bounced right to Roback, whose sliding shot put the ball in the back of the net at 82:36
“I was just in the right spot at the right time,” Roback said. “My teammate took a shot, the keeper had a hard block and I was able to put it right into the net.”
Dinkel and Roback combined for a similar goal early in the game, and Dinkel also scored on a 35-yard free kick early in the second half for Kamehameha-Hawaii, the BIIF champion.
The Warriors also won state titles in 2018 and last year.
“That was awesome. They played their hearts out,” first-year Kamehameha-Hawaii coach Greg Minato said. “From the beginning of the year, that’s what their goal was, to go to states again and win the states.”
The Warriors scored first at 3:41 on a goal by Roback, who scored off a rebound. Dinkel fired a shot from the right side, which was blocked by Lee. The ball went right to an unmarked Roback for an easy finish.
“He has a really hard shot and it’s hard to catch those balls all the time,” Roback said of Dinkel. “Knowing that, I’m just putting myself in the right place in case of a deflection.”
Pac-Five, the ILH champion, tied it at 1-1 at 5:24 on Nolean Bowler’s goal off an assist from Jared Sakai, who sent in a high cross from the left side. Kamehameha-Hawaii goalkeeper Jacob Aiona hesitated with the ball caught up in the wind, which allowed Bowler to score on a header.
The Wolfpack went up 2-1 on Mark Spencer’s goal at 26:44 off a nifty pass from Bowler. Spencer’s shot from 12 yards bounced up off Aiona’s leg and past him, and rolled across the goal line.
“They took advantage of opportunities. Stuff that we practice a lot and fortunately we were able to put it in the back of the net,” first-year Pac-Five coach Austin Lorenzo said.
Both teams had other scoring opportunities in the first half. Pac-Five had six shots on goal, while Kamehameha-Hawaii (14-1-1) had five.
The Warriors tied it at 2-2 at 41:06 on Dinkel’s free kick that went off the head of a player in Pac-Five’s wall and into the right side of the goal.
“I saw the left open up. A lot of walls, they like to cut off one side and have the keeper get the other,” said Dinkel, who served as punter and place kicker on the Warriors football team. “Usually I try to bend it on that side. I tried to hit the left top and luckily it ricocheted and hit the other side while the keeper went to the other.”
The Wolfpack appeared to take the lead in the 59th when Keenan Ferry headed in a free kick from Maxwell Wilkins, but the play was ruled offside.
In last year’s state final, Kamehameha-Hawaii beat Seabury Hall on penalty kicks.
“We didn’t want to go to PKs. Let’s get it. Let’s finish it and they did,” Minato said.
Pac-Five (7-4-3) was in search of its first boys state soccer title.
“We put up a good fight. We came to play,” Lorenzo said. “I told my boys just being here you guys already won.”
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HHSAA/MOTIV8 FOUNDATION
BOYS SOCCER CHAMPIONSHIPS
Division I
Championship
‘Iolani 2, Mililani 1, 2OT/PK
Goal-Scorers—’Iolani: Kaleb Abara. Mililani Xander Tamashiro.
PK: ‘Iolani 4, Mililani 3
3rd Place
Kalani 1, Hilo 1
Goal-Scorers—Kalani: Ethan Senter. Hilo: Maluhia Andrade.
5th place
Baldwin 2, Punahou 2
Goal-Scorers—Baldwin: Jordan Carbonell, Kanata Kuwahara. Punahou: Gregory Jackson, Kaili Shoop.
Division II
Championship
Kamehameha-Hawaii 3, Pac-Five 2, OT
Goal-Scorers—Pac-Five: Nolean Bowler, Mark Spencer. KS-Hawaii: Po‘ikeao Roback 2, Elijah Dinkel.
3rd Place
Seabury Hall 2, Island School 0
Goal-Scorers—Seabury: Elima Dagan, James Haynes.
Consolation
Hawaii Prep 2, Waialua 1
Goal-Scorers—Hawaii Prep: Alex Link, Kena Craven. Waialua: Zekiel Balmoj
