By JOE FERRARO Stephens Media ADVERTISING Keaau goalkeeper Viliami Fahiua made save after save, single-handedly keeping Kealakehe from landing an early knockout punch in Wednesday’s Big Island Interscholastic Federation Division I semifinal. But the Waveriders kept peppering the Cougars’ goal
By JOE FERRARO
Stephens Media
Keaau goalkeeper Viliami Fahiua made save after save, single-handedly keeping Kealakehe from landing an early knockout punch in Wednesday’s Big Island Interscholastic Federation Division I semifinal.
But the Waveriders kept peppering the Cougars’ goal with shots, and even the stout Fahiua couldn’t keep Kealakehe from opening the floodgates Wednesday at Waverider Stadium.
Kealakehe scored three goals in a three-minute span late in the first half, propelling the Waveriders to a 5-0 win and giving them an automatic berth in the Hawaii High School Athletic Association Division I tournament.
Kealakehe (12-1-1) will play Waiakea (10-3-1) at 7 p.m. Saturday in the BIIF Division I final at Keaau High School, with the winner getting a first-round bye in a state tournament scheduled for Feb. 15-18 at Oahu’s Waipio Peninsula Soccer Complex.
The Waveriders controlled their match with the Cougars (3-11) from start to finish, outshooting Keaau 39-3. In the process, they started a new state tournament appearance streak. Last season, Kealakehe suffered a 3-1 loss to Waiakea in the BIIF semifinals, snapping a string of five consecutive state tourney berths.
“It’s a great feeling,” senior Cory Fisher said of the team’s state tourney berth. “We worked really hard this season for everything. We really wanted this win.”
Fisher scored two of Kealakehe’s goals in the three-minute stretch that essentially put the game away.
First, sophomore Scott Henderson, operating from the left side of the 18-yard box, sent a pass into the middle of the box to Fisher, who buried a shot from 15 yards out in the 25th minute. A minute later, Fisher took a pass from senior Tyler Yates and fired in his 13th goal for a 4-0 Kealakehe lead.
Junior forward Kapono Berard started the three-goal spurt in the 24th minute, rifling a shot into the upper right corner of net from the left side of the box for his fifth goal.
Before Kealakehe broke the game open, Fahiua did well just to keep the Waveriders in the match, making brilliant saves on headers by Fisher and junior Connor Keale when sophomore Keoni Yates delivered two pinpoint throw-ins into the box.
But Kealakehe’s attack continued churning out quality scoring chances.
“(We had to) stay calm, stay composed, keep on working the ball, don’t waste dribble, pass the ball, just finish low and hard, don’t panic in front of the goal – that’s how we did it,” Fisher said.
Sophomore Daniel Claudell closed the scoring in the 42nd minute with his first goal of the season, while Henderson gave Kealakehe the lead in the 10th minute when he knocked in a rebound off a close-range shot from Fisher.
All the while, Fahiua kept the match from getting out of hand, finishing with 16 saves.
Kealakehe beat Keaau 9-0 in the regular-season meeting between the teams.
“With all the shots that came at him, I thought he did a great job,” Keaau coach Richard Handy said of Fahiua. “We really improved from the last time we played (Kealakehe).”
While the Cougars’ season came to an end, the Waveriders were already thinking about Saturday’s match.
“We’re not done yet,” Fisher said. “We really want to win BIIFs this year. We want that title back, we’re hungry for it, (and) we’re coming hard.”
