By MATT GERHART
By MATT GERHART
Tribune-Herald sports writer
The star system is out and the youth movement is in at Hawaii Prep, and coach Rich Braithwaite couldn’t be more excited about it.
Ka Makani have a notable hole to fill in terms of goal production, and though Braithwaite feels his boys soccer team might not score as much as last season, he thinks it can more than make up for any lack of firepower with better depth and an improved defense.
“My guess is we will play better soccer,” Braithwaite said after HPA beat Keaau 3-0 in a preseason match Friday behind goals from Teak Owen, Brendan Moynahan and Jack Austin at the Hilo Bayfont Classic. “We are starting seven or eight underclassmen, and they’re great. They’ve been playing since they were like 2. Definitely not a rebuilding year.”
Young yet seasoned, HPA will try to avoid boomball at all costs, instead focusing on smart touches and possession, which senior co-captain Blake Hooser and Braithwaite each refer to as “knocking the ball around.”
“It’s a lot more playing actual soccer,” Hooser said. “Lots of the time over here, you just see people booming the ball. We knock it around and control tempo to use the whole space of the field. It just makes it harder for opponents.”
Ka Makani made life tough for the opposition for much of the Big Island Interscholastic Federation regular season last year, losing only once. But they were upset at home by eventual champion Konawaena in the Division II playoffs, a loss that still irks Hooser and his coach because it cost HPA at the Hawaii High School Athletic Association tournament. Ka Makani had to face Kapaa, another eventual champion, in the first round and lost 4-3 in double overtime before cruising to two victories to take fifth.
Braithwaite left Oahu thinking he had the second-best team in the tournament, but he perhaps had questions about his goalkeeper. However, any lingering doubts about sophomore Trent Wise have since been erased.
“He’s gotten 3-4 years better since then,” Braithwaite said. “He spent the entire summer playing club ball.”
He also feels HPA has gotten better on the backline. Hooser will lead the unit at sweeper and freshman stopper Braden Kojima is among the underclassmen that are set to start.
“Not just skill level, but an unbelievable excitement and energy,” Braithwaite said of his underclassmen, a group that also includes freshman midfielder Austin Schneider, sophomore fullbacks Dylan Ryan and Alex Brost and sophomore forwards Justin Perry and Zen Simone.
“I think they’re a really good, eager bunch,” Hooser said. “As they grow older they’re going to be a lot better.”
Austin, another senior co-captain, was a team backbone last year at center midfielder in earning first-team all-league honors. He’ll play alongside Schneider, a player that Braithwaite favorably compares to Austin at the same stage of his career,
The big question is who is going to replace striker Kepa Police and his 31 goals?
Braithwaite said Simone has a scorer’s natural instincts and tabbed him as the preseason favorite to lead the team in goals.
“One of those guys who just knows how to finish,” the coach said.
But he also expected Perry, who started last season as a freshman but sometimes deferred to Police, to transition into more of a scorer. Meanwhile, senior forward Kama Hurwitz is healthy for the first time in his high school career and is perhaps HPA’s fastest player.
“Last year was a struggle when I wanted to sub or we had an injury,” Braithwaite said. “This year we have 14 starters.”
In a girls match Friday, Hawaii Prep shut out Waimea 4-0.
Editor’s note: This is the third in a series of BIIF soccer previews.
Next up: Kealakahe boys, Sunday.