Lucas Kay Wong already had helped keep his Kamehameha teammates calm after a shocking penalty kick miss.
Now all he needed to do so was keep himself calm – with the HHSAA Division II boys final on his foot, no less.
“This is what I live for, this is what I play for,” Wong remembers thinking. “I knew all the pressure was on me. I just tried to relax as much as possible.”
The sophomore buried his nerves and then promptly buried championship point Saturday, sending the Warriors running across the field in the Honolulu night. Shirts off, they captured the school’s second state title and first since 2018 thanks to a 2-1 win against Seabury Hall in PKs.
“These kids, this season, this tournament, they rose to the occasion,” coach Gene Okamura said.
Something happened with Kamehameha, Wong said, after the BIIF title game loss to Hawaii Prep.
There had been doubts, but they all went away during a three-match run on Oahu. The Warriors narrowly avoided penalty kicks in Friday’s semifinal win when Wong drew a penalty kick late in the second overtime for Elijah Dinkel, who, of course, converted.
“I knew our team had potential, but it was very difficult because we had so many freshman,” Wong said. “At some point, I was a little scared, and losing the BIIF final was demoralizing.
“After we made it to states, it was history. I knew would have composure.”
They kept it even after Dinkel stunningly had his shot blocked to open PKs. The junior, as usual, was all over the field for the Warriors in the title match. He was responsible for all five of his team’s shots on frame, his corner kick led to Kamehameha’s goal in the first half and he almost ended matters in the overtime when his blast hit the cross bar.
However, Kamehameha was in a hole in PKs when Dinkel was robbed and Maui’s Spartans converted their first attempt.
“I was stunned, because (Elijah) normally makes it every time,” Wong said. “I wanted to make sure all the freshman and everyone that was shooting got in the right frame of mind so they made theirs.”
They did.
Everton Kuamoo, Will Anderson and Po Roback buried their PKs, and freshman goalkeeper Jacob Aiona watched two shots from Seabury sail off frame.
The match only got to PKs because Aiona stopped Jimmy Haynes’ attempt at the game-winner, running out from his net to knock the ball away in overtime. Haynes had Seabury’s goal in the final after netting a hat trick in the semifinals to beat Hawaii Prep.
While the Spartans were denied their first state title, the Warriors held up their end of the bargain for the BIIF. Since 2011, the league has claimed seven titles.
“It’s super stressful,” Dinkel said, “but all of the boys put in a lot of work.
“Like any island, we like to compete. We have a lot of rivalries there.”