After Putting the ILH to rest in the preseason, the Kapolei boys soccer team is turning its attention to ruling the OIA again.

The Hurricanes beat Aiea 3-0 in the OIA opener for both teams at Kapolei on Tuesday night, keeping the momentum going from their breakout preseason.

Kapolei swept through the tip-off tournament in the preseason, shutting out ILH powers Punahou, Kamehameha and ‘Iolani in the process. It was a good sign for a program that has reached the state tournament in each of the past three years but fallen short each time.

"We just wanted to show that we are still one of those teams," said Kapolei captain Kalei Gallarde, one of 16 seniors on the team. "But it was only preseason. We want to win the whole thing, and it has to start with the OIA."

Mostly the common interest the Hurricanes share is sealing the deal before it is too late. After their great start, they think their investment into the team in the offseason might be paying off.

"This year everything seemed set up from the start," Kapolei assistant coach Ryan Lau said. "We started the year with a full complement of players and a lot of depth. It seems in other years we spent this time clearing up academic issues or fighting off the injury bug. This year the guys had it taken care of before we even started."

That’s not to say the Hurricanes beat Na Alii on Tuesday at full strength, as head coach Bryce Kaneshiro missed the game while away at an athletic directors meeting, and top striker Keo Ponce came off the bench because of an injury and played sparingly.

But they had enough to beat Aiea. Gallarde scored Kapolei’s first goal after watching the teams trade possessions in the middle of the box and putting an end to it when it trickled toward him. Gallarde drove the ball through the heart of Aiea’s defense, beating two men before tapping it past the Aiea keeper for the ice breaker.

Gallarde set up Kapolei’s second goal later in the first half, powering a long pass across the mouth of the goal to Archie Ryales, who executed a perfect hook slide to move the ball safely past the Aiea keeper.

"I heard someone calling, I knew he was going to be there," Gallarde said.

"We spent all week practicing that, so I knew he would be there."

Kapolei scored its third goal when forward Dylan Orian picked up one of the team’s offensive workhorses. Michael Wolf spent three straight possessions fighting Na Alii in front of the goal, only to miss on one header and have another one drilled into the chest of Aiea’s keeper. He was ridden to the ground on the next possession before he could get a third try, and Orian drilled the penalty kick off the post, collected the rebound and put it in.

And it all — the play, the game and the season thus far — happened according to plan.

"That’s the main goal," Lau said. "To keep progressing until we are the first state champ out of Kapolei."