Leahi 95 Premier earned the right to play together and stay together for a little while longer.

Two goals by Dempsey Banks and another by Kama Pascua got Leahi past Arsenal Colorado 3-2 to win the girls under-18 title of the 2013 U.S. Youth Soccer Region IV Championships on Sunday at Waipio Peninsula Soccer Park.

As the only surviving Hawaii club team among all boys and girls divisions, Leahi now represents the state at the U.S. Youth Soccer National Championship Series, held July 22-28 in Overland Park, Kan. It will contend against three other regional champs.

"This is kind of an unexpected summer plan," Leahi coach Scott Keopuhiwa said with a laugh. "Everyone was thinking this was our last tournament together. They’re all heading off to college. So we’ve got to put together some plans to get to Kansas before they (split up)."

With 16 different divisions and upwards of eight teams in each one, the peninsula was inundated with soccer (and thousands of soccer fans) all week. Teams had to survive pool play to make it to the weekend.

There were four local squads playing in various regional finals Sunday, but Leahi’s team was the only one to advance.

Only two previous teams from Hawaii had ever emerged from the region, which encompasses all youth (ages 12-19) teams west of the Rocky Mountains. The 2004 under-19 Honolulu Bulls are the only Hawaii team to win a national championship.

California teams demonstrated why getting to that point is such a challenge, knocking out the HSC Bulls’ under-12 and under-19 boys teams and Express’ under-19 girls squad in regional finals.

Only Leahi made good on playing on familiar fields, something that doesn’t happen often at this stage. Hawaii last hosted this regional, which is rotated among Western states, six years ago.

Six years is also the length of time that Leahi 95’s core group has played together and dominated local competition. But they’d never advanced past the regional semifinals in this event.

"I think all those years, we finally meshed together," said former Punahou striker Banks, who is bound for Cornell in the fall. "And since this is our last time, that gave us a little more push, a little more oomph to get in and win on our home field with all our family and friends watching."

Leahi went up two goals early in the second half, then sweated out the last 15 minutes — "the longest 15 minutes of my life," Keopuhiwa said — once Arsenal drew within a score.

The coach credited goalkeeper Anu Kahele-Manners and an unsubbed defensive line with big stops in the win.

"This is the greatest accomplishment to make it to the finals and to finish it off on our senior year," said ‘Iolani graduate Pascua, who will play at the University of Hawaii in a few months. "So we just played for each other."

The Honolulu Bulls played Pateadores of Southern California tightly for the full 90 minutes of their marquee match in the park’s stadium, but could not make an early penalty-kick goal by Aaron Goo stand up in a 2-1 loss.

"At the end of the day, championships are great," Bulls coach Philip Neddo said. "But it’s about taking players to another level. Learning about life and even finding success in an individual way in soccer."

Express coach Eric Tamashiro also mused on the big picture after his team’s 2-0 loss to the So Cal Blues. His team played a competitive second half after yielding both goals before the break, but could not weave a ball into the net.

"In the past there’s only been a handful of (local) teams that would get to the regional finals," Tamashiro said. "I think it’s showing the level of the youth soccer in Hawaii, to the point where clubs are doing a much better job coaching the players, and the players are so much stronger nowadays than in the past."