WAIMEA — This was an expectation but far from just another step along the way for Hawaii Prep.
This was an important step because it’s a stage it had stumbled on recently.
Best of all was the way everything — from the blazing sun splashing down on the first girls soccer championship to be held in Waimea to the islandwide audience to the dazzling start and quick answer to a rare bit of adversity — came up Ka Makani red.
The state’s Division II dynasty has bigger matters ahead, but feeding off throughballs and set pieces it took care of business in its own backyard for the first time in three seasons, overpowering Kamehameha 7-2 in the BIIF D-II final.
“We never said anything, never talked about it (publicly), but this one feels good,” coach Stephen Perry said. “The juniors had never won one.
“Beautiful weather, it was on our campus, on TV, a lot of little things got us exited. It was a special day.”
It was those BIIF-title starved juniors who did their share of heavy lifting. Bella Police scored in the third minute after collecting a long pass and she capped the scoring in the second half, and fellow 11th-grader Malia Brost also scored two goals, both in the second half, as HPU pulled away after leading 3-1 at halftime.
“Me (junior Alianna West) and Malia, we’ve been playing together since we were in the sixth grade,” Police said. “We’ve talked about this day for as long as we can remember. Freshman and sophomore we didn’t get it, and it was sad.”
Ka Makani (12-1) were working toward a ninth consecutive BIIF crown two years ago when the Warriors stunned them in penalty kicks in the final, and in 2019 Kamehameha came up with a late tying score and earned a repeat on a golden goal on overtime.
Dressed in all red, Ka Makani left little double this time, capping off a dominant BIIF campaign in which the only stumble was a one-goal loss at Waiakea.
“The past two years it’s been a disappointment,” Brost said. “We had the talent, but we never pulled through. We came out hard, we knew what to expect. They were going to want it just as hard.
The scene now shifts to the HHSAA tournament, Feb. 5-8, and Ka Makani draws a bye to the quarterfinals as it turn to its “three games on Oahu” mentality, seeking a seventh consecutive state title. They might well see the Warriors (6-4-3) again after beating them in the state title game three of the past four seasons.
“It can’t stop here and we have to work hard, but to be able to celebrate with this type of win is awesome,” Police said. “We were able to work cohesively and get what we needed to done. All the goals were beautiful.”
Senior Riley Sohriakoff scored off a Brost corner kick in the ninth minute and a major rout looked to be on. However, fleet-footed senior Chenoa Frederick was a force for Kamehameha, scoring both of her teams goal on lasers. Her score to make it 2-1 with about 10 minutes remaining before halftime was notable because of the way HPA quickly responded. Not more than 30 seconds later, senior Angela Cipriano beat the goalkeeper to a throughball and deposited a shot into the net.
“My favorite part was how we came back from a loss (that goal), which is kind of what it felt like,” Brost said. “We were down, but we came back strong.”
She and senior Jenna Perry, who collected three assists, never came off the field in helping to control the midfield, junior Morgan Davis came off the bench and scored a goal in the second half to make it 6-1 and Stephen Perry said the pregame look he saw from senior fullback Kahele Walsh assured him everything was going to be fine on the backline.
“I sat down with the seniors —goalkeeper Maia Mills and Makana Blake are the other two — before the season and I just felt as a group they really cover the field, front to back, middle, wherever.
“It’s a quiet group. Driven, but no limelight. They work hard and it’s a physically strong group. All that wears off on teams after 80 minutes.”
Ka Makani now turns to the next step. Most likely three of them.
“We’re still just as hungry,” Brost said.
