By MATT GERHART Tribune-Herald sports writer ADVERTISING Coach Maurice Miranda doesn’t want Honokaa to think of its season as a title defense, preferring that his boys soccer team focus on the here and now. No such complacency issues so far.
By MATT GERHART
Tribune-Herald sports writer
Coach Maurice Miranda doesn’t want Honokaa to think of its season as a title defense, preferring that his boys soccer team focus on the here and now.
No such complacency issues so far. In fact, now that the Dragons have gotten to the meat of their schedule, they look ready to step it up a notch.
Senior Dylan Shiraki tallied a goal and his throw-in led to another score Tuesday as Honokaa put on a first-half clinic and gave Hilo its first loss with a 2-0 win in a Big Island Interscholastic Federation match at Hilo Bayfront.
“We came out pretty strong,” said Shiraki, who netted his team-high 11th goal. “We wanted to play hard the whole game, and everybody did what they had to do during the first half. We hadn’t beat Hilo in a while, so that was a goal.”
The defending state champions (10-0) just need a win or tie in any of their final three regular-season matches to lock down the top seed in the BIIF Division II tournament.
With precision passing and suffocating play in the midfield, Honokaa looked more than ready to compete for a Division I title as it took it to last season’s BIIF champion.
Junior Clayton Robinson scored his third goal of the year for the Dragons, who outshot Hilo 14-7 during a dominant first 40 minutes.
“This is how we play,” Miranda said. “We move the ball and possess and we also try to exploit the flanks to create chances. I thought we would play well, and I thought they’d have to play really well to beat us.
“That’s how we approach it. We’re bringing the same game. If you want to beat us, you have to play very good soccer. We’re not going to beat ourselves.”
The Vikings, who finished the regular season 11-1-1, suffered a big blow in their bid to grab the top seed in Division I. Kealakehe (9-0-1) remained unbeaten Tuesday with a 6-0 victory at home against Christian Liberty.
Honokaa has outscored its opponents by a combined 52-3, including wins over three Division I teams. Next up is a home showdown Friday against the Waveriders.
“We’ve had focused practices with all the challenges coming up,” Miranda said. “Today, we were ready.”
However, Miranda’s primary practice message all season has remained the same: The Dragons aren’t defending anything, they’re chasing.
“Defending means you’re trying to hold on to something,” he said. “We don’t want to defend, we want to go out and try to win it like everything else.”
Hilo spent a fair share of the first half trying to defend its half of the field, and when it did get to the ball, it had a hard time clearing as Honokaa’s Robert Connors, Chayce Moniz and Nino Quijano made their presence felt in the middle of the field.
“The wind was an issue, and we miscleared,” Hilo coach Don Memmer. “We kept reloading it for them and they got the two goals.”
In the 32nd minute, Hilo goalkeeper Johann Kuipers got a hand on Shiraki’s long throw-in, but the Vikings couldn’t clear as Robinson pounced on the rebound about eight yards in front of the net to give Honokaa a 1-0 lead.
Just before halftime, Honokaa showed off what Miranda called the Dragons’ direct game. Instead of playing small-ball, Honokaa tries to loosen the flanks with one or two long passes.
In this case, defender Josh Tobias connected with Justin Warren, who sent a long throughball down the right flank that Shiraki beat a defender to and chipped over Kuipers for a 2-0 lead.
“We can play (small-ball or direct) depending on the situation,” Shiraki said. “That’s the best part about our team. We adjust.”
Senior Mikah Hatcher had Hilo’s best scoring chance, a 20-yard blast during the first half that Honokaa goalkeeper Maika’i Coelho redirected over the crossbar.
“Our defense is a proud group,” Miranda said. “The goal is a shutout every time.”
Because of a quirk in the schedule, Hilo has a 15-day wait until it hosts a BIIF semifinal Feb. 8 — against either Waiakea or Keaau — with a state berth on the line.
“We’ve got to stay fresh,” Memmer said. “It will come down to one game and we have to be ready for a battle.”
Waveriders win
Tyler Yates collected a goal and two assists, while Cory Fisher, Keoni Yates and Marc Takahashi each had a goal and an assist as the Waveriders defeated Christian Liberty 6-0.
The lineup Kealakehe’s boys soccer team had wanted to use all year paid major dividends Tuesday at Waverider Stadium.
Kealakehe, which raced out to a 4-0 halftime lead, remained undefeated at 9-0-1, while the Canefire dropped to 5-3-2.
For the first time this season, Kealakehe coach Urs Leuenberger placed Tyler and Keoni Yates at the forward positions and Fisher at center halfback. The alignment created the multidimensional attack that created a good mixture of long-range shots and point-blank chances.
“Cory’s unselfish play as a center half is contributing to the Yates boys’ finishing ability,” Leuenberger said.
Tyler Yates, a senior, broke the fibula in this right leg while playing football, keeping him away from the soccer field for the first half of the regular season.
While Tyler Yates was away, Keoni Yates logged most of his playing time at midfield while Fisher played forward.
On Tuesday, the trio of Tyler Yates, Keoni Yates and Fisher kept a formidable Christian Liberty team on its heels in front of its own goal, according to Leuenberger.
Junior Avery Hardie-Jordan and freshman Tyler DeVerse also scored for Kealakehe.
“Obviously, Christian Liberty, they’ve got a strong team, strong players, good shooters,” Leuenberger said. “But if you have to defend all the time, you’re not going to take advantage of that.”
Defensively, senior Devin Olaso, and juniors Jason Kuwada, Connor Keale and Logan Whitney played well in front of senior Kawela Benson, who blanked the Canefire in goal.
Hawaii Prep 9, Kohala 1: Mac Yagi recorded a hat trick in Kapaau, giving the HPA senior five goals in his past three games as the Ka Makani moved into sole possession of second place in the BIIF Division II standings.
Sophomore Jack Austin scored his first two goals of the season, while junior Martynas Golubovskis tallied his team-high 16th goal.
Senior Trevor Edwards, and sophomores Kama Hurwitz and Jared Pries also scored for HPA (7-3).
Freshman Billy Skelton found the net for Kohala, which finiashed the regualar season 2-11.
Joe Ferraro contributed to this report.
