With a two-goal lead and his side of the ledger clean, Waiakea goalkeeper Kainalu Mattos was ready to wonder.
Mattos stepped out of the penalty area and made a couple of more strides toward the center line Friday, turning to coach Grant Todd to see if he could move up more and join the offensive rush.
“I’ll speed right back if I need to, I promise,” Mattos said.
The request was denied by Todd, but Waiakea still enjoyed its moments of frivolity at the Volcano International Soccer Tournament against the younger Kona Rage. Especially when John Grover and Kai Biegler scored goals to highlight a 2-0 victory in an under-19 boys match at sun-splashed Hilo Bayfront.
Along with the match’s lighter moments, Waiakea also got in some work – it’s never to early start building for the BIIF season.
“Of course, we’re always looking ahead,” said Todd, the Waiakea AYSO Summer League coach and a Warriors’ assistant during the high school season. “That’s why we have them here and why we’re preparing.”
Onlookers who were color blind may have had a hard time deciphering the two teams by uniform. Both wore black shorts with black numbers on their jerseys – Kona Rage’s were sea green, while Waiakea sported a shade of aqua.
More noticeable was difference in age and experience between the two teams.
“We’re mostly (16-under),” Rage coach Steve Loyola said. “You could tell.”
“We saw (Waiakea) walk out,” he said, “We all know Grover. Our guys were like, ‘Oh no,’ but it was a good experience.”
Waiakea was 2-1 entering its final pool match Saturday after beating Honokaa 4-0 later on Friday. On Thursday, it lost 4-2 to Kamehameha in what Todd called a “mean game.”
Also Friday, Kamehameha beat West Oahu 10-2 and Kona Rage beat Honokaa 6-4.
Two of the five teams, most likely Waiakea and Kamehameha, will return for Sunday’s championship game.
“This is a bonding thing for us,” Todd said, “because the majority of this team will play for Waiakea varsity or junior varsity next season.
“Whether we win or not, it’s about getting these guys confidence moving forward to next year.”
And there is reason to think that 2020 could be the year for Waiakea, which hasn’t claimed a BIIF boys soccer title since 2006.
Eventual champion Hawaii Prep eliminated the Warriors in the playoffs the past two years in come-from-behind fashion, winning in overtime, but Ka Makani loses a host of standouts while Waiakea loses just two seniors.
“We hope its going to be our season,” Todd said, “but we have to wait for it to play out.”
One of the two seniors who graduated was goalkeeper Isaac Sumera, meaning Mattos could be competing for a job come the fall.
“Let’s put it this way,” Todd said, “He’s definitely got the talent for it. I definitely think he’s in the running.”
Loyola said his underclassmen-laden roster featured players from four BIIF schools, Konawaena, Kealakehe, Hawaii Prep and Kohala, and well as a few players from Oahu. Goalkeeper Pascal Cabuzel, who is set to be a junior at HPA, did well to keep Waiakea to two goals.
The mid-afternoon match in the blazing sun was Kona Rage’s second of the day.
“It was good that we got to play an established high school team,” Loyola said. “We had bunch of good scoring opportunities but we didn’t convert. Some days it breaks your way, and some days it doesn’t.”
