WAIMEA – Patience is a virtue.
The old saying applied for Ka Makani Thursday, as they battled against a resilient Parker squad with a trip to the BIIF D-II Championship on the line.
“We lost our patience,” said Hawaii Prep head coach Adam Christodoulou. “We tried to force the game instead of the game coming to us.
“We start out, there’s a lot of eagerness. We want to score, get on top of these guys. We beat them before; let’s do it again. That’s not how I want to play.”
For more than 30 minutes, neither the Bulls nor Ka Makani were able to break into the scoring column. Despite dominating possession and peppering Parker goalie Kai Higgins with shots, HPA had nothing to show for their efforts until the game’s 32nd minute, when Alex Link found the back of the net off a Ka Makani corner kick.
“It was a lot harder game this game than it was the first time we played them,” said Christodoulou, referring to HPA’s 8-0 victory over Parker on Jan. 28. “They brought a lot of heart and a lot of energy.”
Holding onto their narrow one-goal lead at the half, Christodoulou talked to his group about opening up the field and getting their passing game going. With their offense finally flowing, it didn’t take long for Ka Makani to extend their lead.
Tau Khabele buried HPA’s second goal of the game just three minutes into the second half, followed by an Edorado Greco goal seven minutes later.
“After we got that second goal, it became easy,” said Christodoulou. “We slowed down. The eagerness – the panic – left us, and we let the game come to us. Complete control; I loved it.”
For good measure, HPA tacked on another pair of goals – one by Aidan Santos and another by Mason Hunt – to make it a 5-0 game.
In goal for Ka Makani, Logan Waiau recorded the shutout thanks to some stellar play by his teammates, limiting Parker to zero shots on goal.
HPA now advances to face Kamehameha in the BIIF D-II Championship on Saturday at Kamehameha. Start time is scheduled for 5 p.m.
Kamehameha 4, Makua Lani 1
Kamehameha’s boys soccer game didn’t need Elijah Dinkel to do all the goal-scoring this time.
All the Warriors needed was one goal from the junior, his 16th of the season, and a complete effort overall Thursday to beat Makua Lani 4-1 in the BIIF Division II semifinals at Paiea Stadium.
Kamehameha (7-2-2) will return to its field at 5 p.m. Saturday night to take on top-seeded Hawaii Prep for the championship. In the other semifinal, Ka Makani blanked Parker 5-0.
Last week in Kailua-Kona, the Lions jumped out to a 2-0 lead on the Warriors until Dinkel scored twice, including a goal late in the match that gave his team a draw and home field in the rematch. On Thursday, Po Roback, Everton Kuamoo and Lucas Kay Wong also found the back of the net.
“Think just execution in the final third and better overall defensively,” coach Gene Okamura said on the improvements his team made.
Aukele Paikuli-Campbell scored for Makua Lani, which saw its season end at 6-3-2.
In the final, Kamehameha seeks its first title since 2019 against an HPA team it also played to a 2-2 draw with during the regular season. Dinkel scored both goals Jan. 19 in Waimea, the final one coming in the last minute of the match.
“Got to defend really well against HPA and try to capitalize on our opportunities,” Okamura said.
