KAILUA-KONA – When the ‘Riders are on their game, they’re a tough squad to contend with.
For a half, at least, the visiting Lions of Makua Lani were successful in forcing Kealakehe off their game, but the Waveriders were able to find it and responded for an 8-4 win in BIIF boys soccer behind Mathew Enriquez (three goals) and Micah Carson (two).
The Lions were able to draw a number of fouls early on, and Makua Lani’s Ka’eleleokahaku Fernandez took advantage by converting of a pair of penalty kicks, giving his team a 3-2 lead in the game’s 30th minute.
“Mentally, we needed to just step back for a second…” said Kealakehe’s head coach Hayato Fukumitsu. “Sometimes, the games are called that way; it just depends on how the refs call it. All we can do is respond. The game was being played like that; a lot of calls, the ball was stopping… We’re not used to that.”
Braydon Heldt managed to score the equalizer for Kealakehe two minutes later, and the two teams headed into halftime tied at 3.
“We had to collect our thoughts better, not play their style of soccer,” said Fukumitsu of his team’s adjustments at halftime. “They were trying to have us play a different type of soccer; we needed to play our style of soccer and remember who we were.”
In the second half, the Waveriders leaned heavily on seniors Enriquez and Carson. The pair combined for four goals after halftime to push Kealakehe’s lead to 7-3 with just over five minutes left to play. Kealakehe’s TJ Arakawa and Makua Lani’s Aukele Paikuli-Campbell each scored in the contest’s closing minutes, giving the game its final score of 8-4.
“Just having a good opponent like Makua Lani – they’re quality, they’re technical players – they’re a good team,” said Fukumitsu. “I think any time we can play any opponent that’s quality, it’s going to favor us.”
The victory lifts Kealakehe’s record to 5-1-1, while Makua Lani’s record drops to 4-2-0. The Lions are scheduled to host Waiakea on Friday, while the Waveriders will travel to Kamehameha to take on the Warriors on Saturday.
Kamehameha 5, Honokaa 0: Lucas Kay-Wong scored his second goal of the season, and Taylor Eckart, Luke Keliikuli, Jared Galapir and Blaise Loo also found the back of the net at the Dragons’ field to power the Warriors (3-1-1).
Jacob Aiona played most of the match in goal before giving way to Kenui Kalaola-Maruquin in a combined shutout of the Dragons (2-4).