KEALAKEHE — With 15 minutes left in the second half, Kealakehe boys soccer was facing a massive hurdle.
After falling to Waiakea in overtime on Jan. 31 in the Big Island Interscholastic Federation (BIIF) Boys Soccer Division I Championship and being unable to secure a bye, the Waveriders hosted Kapolei High School in Round 1 of the Hawaii High School Athletic Association (HHSAA) Division I Boys Soccer Tournament on Monday at Waverider Stadium.
Trailing 2-0 late in the final period, Kealakehe emptied the tank by scoring three goals over a 12-minute stretch — spearheaded by striker Aukele Paikuli-Campbell with two of those goals — to escape the Hurricanes with a 3-2 win.
“I’m really proud of how the team fought in the second half,” Kealakehe coach Adrian Guillen told West Hawaii Today postgame.
For the majority of the match, Kapolei was in control — playing strong midfield defense which gave the Waveriders limited chances for shots on goal. The Hurricanes’ offensive philosophy of spreading the ball around exhausted Kealakehe’s defense, leading to an uneventful opening half for the blue and white.
Kapolei’s goals from Logan Aurio in the 11th minute and Alexander Tomasiewicz in the 31st minute put the Oahu club in comfortable position at halftime, but the Waveriders weren’t ready to lie down. With the season on the line, Kealakehe increased its pace in attacking with the ball and converted longer passes — leading to more opportunities to score down the stretch.
Paikuli-Campbell broke lose from the Hurricanes’ midfield to score on a breakaway in the 65th minute, followed by an Isaac Marquardt head-shot goal off a corner kick just two minutes later. Carrying all the momentum, the Waveriders stayed aggressive in the final 12 minutes — continuing to push the ball in Kapolei territory.
With less than three minutes remaining, Paikuli-Campbell found an opening near the right post and fired, scoring the winning goal for Kealakehe. The Hurricanes attempted a last-minute push to even the score, but missed the left post with 20 seconds left.
“We were trailing, but we knew scoring one goal would change the game,” Guillen added. “We’re very excited to advance to the quarterfinals.”
Now fresh off an improbable comeback story, the Waveriders (9-2-0 overall) will look to keep the magic going against No. 1 Iolani in the quarterfinals at 3 p.m. Thursday on Oahu. Kealakehe will face a tall task in the Raiders, who took home the Division I title last season.
Kapolei’s season has ended at 10-4-1 overall.
BIIF girls named to All-Tournament team
Following the conclusion of the HHSAA girls soccer season, the All-Tournament teams from last week’s matches on Oahu were recently released — with five BIIF players being selected.
KS-Hawai‘i’s Mia Chow, Madisyn Meyers, Rhacelyn Respicio, Rebekah Sipinga and Lahela Cootey were all honored — serving as central contributors in the Warriors’ deep run, in which they fell 1-0 to PAC-5 in the Division II title game.