Kalani freshman Yamato Okumura was in Chiba, Japan, eight months ago.
He was on the Falcons’ junior varsity team two months ago.
Then coach Keach Mizuno had to find a position for Okumura after he got called up.
It’s been quite a journey for Okumura, but he looks quite comfortable where he is.
Okumura scored two first-half goals and goalkeeper Robert Pruner made two saves in the penalty-kick shootout as Kalani upset No. 1 seed Punahou 3-2 (4-1 PKs) in the quarterfinals of the NIU Health Urgent Care/HHSAA Division I Boys Soccer Championships on Thursday at the Waipio Peninsula Soccer Complex.
“The Punahou guys are big and it was hard for me, but I’m kind of quick and I have technique, so I could put it on goal,” said Okumura, who is listed at 5-foot-2.
Kalani will face No. 4 seed King Kekaulike in today’s semifinals at 7 p.m. at Radford. No. 3 seed Hilo and Kaiser will meet in the other semifinal at 5 p.m. It is the first time in the 48-year history of the tournament no ILH team has reached the semifinals.
Jenson Fuse, Lucas Wright, Jase Oshiro and Shane Kudo went 4-for-4 in the shootout for Kalani (12-2-1).
“Our team, we practice pens a lot and the first five kickers … we have to practice hard just to get in that top-five spot. We showed them we’re the best kickers,” said Kudo, a junior, who made the game-winning kick.
Pruner, a junior, blocked shots by Punahou’s La’akeaikamalu Salvani and Kaimana Newman. The Buffanblu’s second shooter, Brian Overbeek, converted his PK.
“The field players expect to score, and if the keeper saves it, it’s an achievement. I used that to keep my nerves down,” Pruner said.
Kalani, the OIA’s third-place team, went up 1-0 in the 17th minute on Okumura’s goal off a perfectly timed through ball from Wright.
“I felt the space behind the opponents’ left back, so I just ran through it and Lucas gave me a nice ball and I just relaxed and controlled it,” said Okumura, whose family moved to Hawaii after his military father was transferred. “I just saw the goal and I just took a shot and it went in.”
Kalani scored again in the 29th on Okumura’s goal off a cross from Kai Van Rijsbergen.
“Kai headed and no one touched it, and the ball came straight to me and I just kicked it in,” Okumura said.
Okumura said he scored three goals on the Falcons’ JV team before being called up. He started at center midfielder before moving to left wing.
“We didn’t know what position he was suited for, but we found out he’s a winger,” said Mizuno, the Kalani coach. “He’s not strong — he’s quick and has great ball mastery. I found out that’s his best position, so he started playing there.”
Punahou, the ILH champion, seemed to get a spark after going a man down in the 64th after a Buffanblu player was red-carded for making contact with the referee.
The Buffanblu scored on a penalty kick by Nathan Daehler, also in the 64th, after a Kalani player was called for a handball in the penalty box. Punahou (8-2-1) then quickly tied it in the 65th on a goal Justin Nishimoto.
“In the game of soccer when you are two goals up, there is no guarantee. It can easily flip,” Mizuno said.
The Buffanblu nearly went ahead over the final 15 minutes. Keaton Hicks just missed with two shots and Nishimoto missed another. In the final minute, Andrew Lovell tried to jam the ball into the goal just before the goal line, but Pruner was able to smother it.
“It was not only trying to light a fire under them, it was a total change in positional play,” said Punahou coach David
Trifonovitch. “We pulled a defender and went with three defenders in the back and threw in an extra forward.”
In the first of the two 10-minute golden goal overtimes, Kalani was awarded a penalty kick after Okumura was tripped in the penalty box. Maka Monaghan stepped up to the spot, but his attempt was blocked by Punahou backup keeper Luke Mamiya. In the shootout, Aslan Chong was in goal for the Buffanblu.
King Kekaulike 2, Kapolei 1, PK
The Waveriders beat the Hurricanes 6-5 in penalty kicks to move on to the semifinals.
Owen Riecke broke the seal for King Kekaulike in the 51st minute, but John Tomasiewicz answered for Kapolei six minutes later.
Kaiser 4, Mililani 3, PK
The Cougars ousted the OIA champions in a high-scoring affair.
Will Simpson scored for Mililani just a minute into the contest and then added another in the 18th minute. Kaiser fought back, though, stringing goals by Noah Kaneshiro in the 45th minute, Leo Davies in the 57th and Seamas Mercado for the lead in the 59th minute. Noah Fujikawa forced overtime with a goal in the 78th minute for Mililani.
Kaiser won the penalty kicks 4-2 after two scoreless overtimes.
Hilo 2, Aiea 1
The Vikings jumped out to a 2-0 lead and made it stand up against Na Alii’s rally.
Michael De Coito scored for Hilo after nine minutes and Kaumualii Harman added another 20 minutes later. Kelly Takara scored for Aiea in the 54th minute, but Na Alii couldn’t add to it.
Division II
Hawaii Prep 3, Roosevelt 0
Aidan Santos provided the offense as Ka Makani shut out the Rough Riders.
Santos scored in the 12th minute and again in the 44th minute for the victors. Tau Khabele jumped in with a goal in the 20th minute for Hawaii Prep.
Seabury Hall 5, Radford 1
The Rams jumped out to an early lead, but the Spartans turned it into a rout.
Kahekili Vega scored after just 10 minutes for Radford, but Duke Romanchak scored two goals a minute apart on his way to a hat trick. James Haynes added two more goals for Seabury Hall, his tallies came six minutes apart.
Island School 7, Waialua 2
The Voyagers showed off a frightening offense, scoring seven times to best the Bulldogs.
AJ Galiza, Carlos Lang and Sawyer Rogoff each had two goals for Island School and Eddie Stillman added another.
KS-Hawaii 3, Le Jardin 1
Everton Kuamoo broke a tie in the 68th minute and Elijah Dinkel provided insurance five minutes later as the Warriors beat the Bulldogs.
Lucas Kay-Wong scored for Kamehameha-Hawaii just two minutes into the contest, but Keenan Ramanlal tied it for Le Jardin in the 17th minute.
