The Island School boys soccer team’s voyage into uncharted territory was a success.
Sawyer Rogoff scored off a cross by Titus Schweitzer at 58:25 as No. 3 seed Island School of Lihue beat No. 1 seed Kamehameha-Hawaii 1-0 in the final of the Motiv8 Foundation/HHSAA Boys Division II State Championships on Saturday at Waipio Peninsula Soccer Complex.
“I see my friend Titus, No. 3, coming down the line from the right. He bypasses the left back defender, he curls it in, it goes right past the center back’s head and right past the goalie’s glove as he’s diving out,” Rogoff said. “It hits me in my chest and I just control it, it hits the ground, and I bang it as hard as I can.”
It was Island School’s first state team title in any sport, and the Voyagers denied the Warriors’ attempt at a three-peat. Island School also was appearing in its first state final in any sport.
Island School has a high school enrollment of 182, according to a school official.
“It just shows the commitment of academically minded students that also are good athletes,” Island School co-coach Sean Magoun said. “This certainly isn’t the last to come through representing Kauai, or Island School, but it’s just the beginning, I hope.”
The only other Garden Island school to win a D-II boys soccer title is Kapaa, which claimed crowns in 2009, 2013 and 2019.
Island School (12-1-1) was motivated after losing in the semifinals the previous two years.
“This is the last ride and we did it. Better late than never,” said William Buford, one of 10 seniors on the roster.
Schweitzer controlled the ball on the right side and sent a pass to Rogoff, who scored from about 7 yards.
“We’ve been practicing this, talking about different approaches to getting the ball in the net and Mark (Ure, the other co-coach) has really worked with the kids on that offensive tactic,” Magoun said.
Kamehameha-Hawaii (13-1-0) put on an all-out assault on the goal in the final 15 minutes but didn’t break through.
“We were down before during the regular season and we came back. Just the desire of the kids,” Kamehameha-Hawaii coach Greg Minato said. “They train hard and they practice hard. They did what I wanted them to do and we just fell short.”
The Warriors nearly got the equalizer when Kanoa Honda got behind the defense and headed the ball wide of the goal in the 65th.
In the 67th, Kamehameha-Hawaii’s Gabriel Arquitola was just beaten to a long pass by Island School goalkeeper Micah Lindman, who smothered the ball near the 6-yard box.
In the final few minutes, the Island School player nicknamed “Big Willie” came through with a couple of big plays.
In the 77th, Lucas Kay-Wong took a long pass and moved in on goal, but a slide tackle to Buford knocked the ball out of bounds.
“No. 24 is fast and he’s shifty and he has a good shot, so I knew I had to get in that space and I waited for him to take that touch and I just went it and it worked,” Buford said.
With 20 seconds remaining, there was a scramble in front of goal and Buford wound up heading the ball off the goal line.
“Right before that I noticed every single one of Kamehameha’s players were up,” Buford said. “Everyone else was marked, so we had to line up on the line of the goal because they’re not going to get past us if everyone is lined up. The ball happened to come to me and everything just worked out and I headed it out.”
Ure said: “That last five minutes were crazy.”
Both teams had three shots on goal in the first half.
Island School had a chance in the 17th when Javin Hennessy played a short corner from the right side to Schweitzer. He crossed to Buford, who sent a header from in close over the crossbar.
In the 21st, Kamehameha-Hawaii’s Kay-Wong sent a shot from the top of the box, which forced Lindman to dive to his right to save.
The Warriors’ Henderson set a shot from 22 yards in the 25th that went just wide right
The Voyagers’ Ignacio Elzardi sent a blast from 25 yards in the 30th that forced Jacob Aiona to dive to his left to save.
In the 39th, Island School nearly got one in when Hunter Kerry’s header off a corner kick from Hennessy was denied by Aiona.
Just after halftime, the Voyagers’ Mikey Melvin placed a shot off a Warriors defender and off the crossbar.
Kamehameha-Hawaii’s Henderson sent a free kick from 30 yards in the 50th that landed on top of the netting.
