LIHU‘E — For 71 minutes the Kapa‘a Warriors used every ounce of energy, strength and courage they had to keep Honoka‘a out of their net. Unfortunately for the Warriors, all it took was a half-second lapse to cost them their
LIHU‘E — For 71 minutes the Kapa‘a Warriors used every ounce of energy, strength and courage they had to keep Honoka‘a out of their net. Unfortunately for the Warriors, all it took was a half-second lapse to cost them their title hopes.
A goal in the 72-minute game by Honoka‘a’s Valentino Quijano-Moeckel was the game winner, as the No. 1 seeded Dragons clipped the No. 2 Warriors, 1-0, in the championship game of the 39th Annual Outrigger Hotels & Resorts/Hawai’i High School Athletic Association Boys Soccer State Division II Championships Saturday evening at Waipi’o Peninsula Soccer Stadium on O‘ahu.
From the opening whistle, the Dragons established themselves as the dominant team. Honoka‘a kept the Warriors on their heels for the vast majority of the first half, with Kapa‘a mustering only a few ventures into the Dragon zone.
But for as much time as the Dragons spent on the offensive, they couldn’t crack the Kapa‘a defense. Looking like they knew one goal could decided the match, the Warriors did everything they could to prevent shots being placed on their net.
And when a shot did get by, Kapa‘a keeper Shane Nishioka-Healy did everything but stand on his head to stop the relentless Dragon barrage.
But midway through the second half, the Dragons had a throw in from about mid-field. The Dragon player threw the ball nearly to the goal mouth, where it was bounced around until Quijano-Moeckel found it with his foot. The ball barreled toward the net and was deflected, making it impossible for Nishioka-Healy to stop.
The Warriors didn’t have enough time to muster much of a counterattack following the goal and were forced to accept their second place fate for the second year in a row. In last year’s final, the Dragons topped the Warriors 4-1.
