Baldwin’s Angelo Deloso-Flocco failed in his mission to score the winning goal in the Division I boys soccer state championship game. The same held true for his Feb. 17 opponent at Waipio Peninsula Soccer Stadium, Hawaii Prep’s Jake Schneider.
It was that kind of intensely close and, literally, electric match. Due to lightning in the area, it was ultimately canceled with the score tied 0-0 and both teams agreeing to share the state title. Two Neighbor Island teams giving it everything they had throughout regulation and deep into the first overtime wound up, as Schneider said afterward, with a “glass half full.” Two highly technical squads worked diligently most of the night to set up their high-scoring strikers and they came close several times.
The tie has carried over into the offseason. Deloso-Flocco, a senior and the pulse of the Bears, edged out Schneider, a junior, for 2018 Honolulu Star-Advertiser Player of the Year honors. Ka Makani coach Rich Braithwaite, however, barely beat out Baldwin’s Kane Palazzotto as the choice for coach of the year.
Deloso-Flocco is now a three-time All-State first-teamer.
“Angelo learned a lot about himself this year,” Palazzotto said. “We tried some different positions and philosophies with him. We wanted him to understand that he didn’t have to do it all but also to understand when the team needed him most. He’s a great young man; very respectable. God has blessed this kid with some amazing soccer abilities. I wish him the best and I am proud to have been able to coach such a wonderful player.”
Deloso-Flocco scored 15 goals with seven assists. He is joined on the first team by two Baldwin seniors, fullback Hayden Hawes and midfielder Daniel Souza, and a Bears junior, goalkeeper Elliot Tom.
“Hayden was our captain, a rock in the back,” Palazzotto said. “Plays with passion and has a big heart. We played the three best offensive attacking teams at the state tournament and only gave up a set-piece goal. Elliot Tom — hard worker, always wants to get better. And Danny Boy was our point guard who ran the offense the last two years. Angelo scored because Danny knew how to get the ball to him.”
Schneider, who had two goals in a 3-2 state semifinal victory over King Kekaulike, finished with 19 goals and 12 assists and easily made the Star-Advertiser All-State first team.
“Jake made everything function for us offensively,” Braithwaite said. “He is the best forward in the state, in my opinion.”
Sihkea Jim, a junior fullback, brings the total of Hawaii Prep players on the first-team to two.
“Sihkea would be the best center midfielder in the state if we didn’t need him at center back,” said Braithwaite, who is the coach of the year for the second straight season. He pulled off the seemingly impossible task of bringing Hawaii Prep a state D-I co-championship after winning two D-II state titles in a row.
It was a dominant year for the Neighbor Islands at states and it reflects on the All-State first team. Two Na Alii seniors — defender Zakariya Woolley and midfielder Cade Taniguchi — were chosen to the top team, bringing the Neighbor Islands’ haul to eight out of the top 11 choices.
“Zakariya is by far the most consistent player in the state,” King Kekaulike coach Tye Perdido said. “Hands down, the best defender with his ability to read the game and anticipate the play. Not only that, he was a huge threat in the attacking end.”
The three Oahu players chosen are seniors: ‘Iolani midfielder Alex Liu, Punahou fullback Christopher Espinoza and Kapolei high-scoring forward Sean Yoshida. Liu is a repeat first-team selection, and he also drew a player of the year vote, as did Woolley, Hawes and senior goalkeeper Jameson Sato of D-II state champion Kamehameha-Hawaii.
Two players who made first team in 2017 are on the second team this time around — Kaiser’s Makana Srivongsana, a forward, and Noah Mokulehua, a midfielder.
Boys All-State Soccer by Honolulu Star-Advertiser on Scribd
