The video on Maluhia Kekuawela always stood out, so much so that the Waiakea senior soccer player landed a scholarship sight unseen from Fresno Pacific.
Her Waiakea teammate Maiya Serrao went to a clinic in Kailua-Kona the Sunbirds were at, but Kekuawela wasn’t able to attend. Her Chicas club coach, Skee Saplan, who’s the Hilo High girls coach, highly recommended Kekuawela. Also, Sunbirds sophomore Nalani Wall, a Konawaena graduate, and her family put in a character reference.
It helped that she was always a good teammate, but coach Rob Podeyn needed to see if the Warrior center fullback could play or not.
Roll the tape on her YouTube video and it’s clear that Kekuawela is an exceptional defender. She challenges ball-handers and wins battles with her speed and athleticism. But even better is her decision-making.
After she recovers the ball, she keeps her head up and looks to transition the attack, moving the ball from defense to offense. When she dribbles toward the goal, she’s already filling two roles as a defender and midfielder, who controls the middle of the field and tempo.
The reward for her lifetime of hard work was pure bliss.
“Being able to get an athletic and academic scholarship is amazing since it’s been what I’ve been working for as long as I can remember,” she said. “After all the hard work I’ve put in over the years, being able to pay for my own education gives me a great sense of independence and accomplishment.
“I want to make my family proud and make sure they don’t have to worry about anything financially.”
It’s also nice that Fresno Pacific is part of the PacWest, which includes UH-Hilo. She, Serrao, who also singed with the Sunbirds, and Wall will fly back home to Hilo for scheduled visiting games every other year.
The Sunbirds finished 4-11-2 in 2019 and lost to UHH 2-0 on the road.
Kekuawela grew up under the umbrella of the late Buddy Perry and his Na Hoa O Puna club team. She not only fulfilled her dream but her former coach’s as well. It was Perry’s goal to have his players achieve higher education through soccer.
She played for Saplan’s Chicas club for two years. She and Serrao didn’t play together until high school but even that was delayed.
Serrao was injured during her freshman year and was unable to play most of the varsity season. It’s a good feeling for Kekuawela that she’ll have a friend and former teammate to rely on at Fresno Pacific, where she’ll major in Kinesiology.
“What stands out about Maiya is that she never let that injury get to her,” Kekuawela said. “She didn’t let it affect her game, and she bounced back as soon as she was healed. I’m thankful to be able to play college soccer with Maiya. It’s nice to go into a new environment with a friend. I’m glad I don’t have to adjust to a new lifestyle alone.”
Unfortunately for Kekuawela, she hasn’t experienced much success during her BIIF career. She qualified for the state tournament once in 2017 as a freshman. Things may be different at Fresno Pacific.
Podeyn joined the program in 2015, and in 2017 the Sunbirds posted a 9-6-3 record. In his previous job at Southwest Baptist In Missouri, he led the program to NCAA tournament berths in 2013 and 2014.
The Sunbirds coach has an extensive resume of previous jobs and coaching experiences. But the two things that stand out are Southwest Baptist’s grade-point average improvement from 2.7 to 3.6 and the development of 12 of his former players who are coaching at the collegiate level.
Kekuawela may see her coach in the class as well. Podeyn also teaches in the university’s kinesiology department, focusing primarily on the areas of sport psychology and leadership.
She’s a well-rounded individual, who ran the 100 meters and 4×100 in track and claimed third in the 100 hurdles at the BIIF championships last year. She also dances Tahitian and drums for Merahi under her mother, Tiffany Dela Cruz.
As she looks back on her road to landing a scholarship, Kekuawela thinks about the life lessons from Perry and making him smile up in heaven.
“It was an honor just to be able to play under him, He didn’t have to say much, just his presence made you want to work harder,” she said. “He always believed in me as a player and that still carries with me to this day. Just the thought of making him proud makes me never want to give up on that field.”
