Kamehameha, as always, is still trying to get there.
The Warriors twice matched Hawaii Prep play for play last year, pushing hard first at the BIIF Division II girls soccer championship game, and then in the state final.
But when it came to make the play, it was Ka Makani who made it.
“I feel like we had the pieces last year, and I feel like we have the pieces still,” first-year Warriors coach Joshua Woodard said. “Hawaii Prep just has an aura.”
It’s one of invincibility, and HPA has exhibited it seven years running while fashioning a dynasty. The Warriors have inched closer in finishing runner-up the past five seasons, but that still leaves them on a bit of an island at Kamehameha.
Since the girls soccer team last claimed a BIIF title in 2009, every other Warriors’ program — football, girls volleyball, boys and girls basketball, boys soccer, baseball, softball, boys volleyball, water polo — has captured at least one league crown if not more in a team sport.
“It’s a bunch of school pride with all of the other teams,” senior Pili Nahale-a said, “and I think that kind of motivates us because we want to be up there with them.
“Last year we got the sight of winning the championship. We know it, we want it and we’re going to go for it.”
Woodard assisted former coach Gene Okamura — who left to guide UH-Hilo soccer full-time — so he’s familiar with all the holes in the lineup that Kamehameha must replace and the abundance of potential the Warriors return.
Kekai Wong Yuen broke HPA’s stranglehold on BIIF Player of Year before graduating and was the type of dynamic offensive force that opponents had to account for once she got off the bus.
Junior midfielder Hevani Haunga could be Kamehameha’s version this season.
“She just as athletic and dynamic as Kekai,” Woodard said.
Replacing goalkeeper Cyrene Andaya also could prove tricky since the Warriors don’t have much experience at the position and are turning to junior Kiani Troy, a volleyball player who is new to the game. Troy has great hands, Woodard said, but will have to learn the nuances of the position on the fly.
“She really has what it takes to become a great goalkeeper,” Nahale-a said. “As the season gets going, she is going to be really good with how to play and how to communicate with the players on the field.”
Kamehameha returns seven or eight players with BIIF experience, and there are talented and seasoned players at each level.
There is experience at forward with junior Hiwa Brown and sophomore Kiara Cuyo, and freshman Chenoa Frederick has earned playing time as well. Among the capable midfielders are Haunga, Nahale-a and sophomore Kaila Ambrosio in the center, as well as junior Faith Aurello and sophomore Jaden Pinkel on the outside.
Ambrosio, in particular, was adept at making the penetrating passes Woodard is looking for from his mids last Friday during the Warriors’ 4-1 victory at the Hilo Bay Classic.
“It will get a lot better,” Woodard said.
With a new goalkeeper breaking in, it’s important that the fullbacks maintain structure. Senior Courtney Kelii is the leader of the backline, Woodward said, while juniors Keane Farias and Kailey Aiona return as starters, and Joey-Ann Cootey will provide support as well.
“I think we have amazing potential,” Nahale-a said, “even those who haven’t played, and we’re motivated to get there.”
And if Kamehameha does get there, they intend to be the team that makes the play when it counts.
“They have been going through it longer than me,” Woodard said. “If I was them, I’d be mad.”
