Not even a Villaflor could stand up to this kind of power.
Kiani Halushka scored three goals in the first half and Kamehameha beat Aiea 4-0 to claim the Division I state title at the Outrigger Hotels and Resorts/HHSAA State Girls Soccer Championships on Saturday night at the Waipio Peninsula Soccer Complex.
Aiea coach Benji Villaflor, whose father Ben was a legendary boxer in Hawaii, had his team of underdogs play it straight against the Warriors and the OIA’s sixth-place team was buried early.
"She’s our bowling ball," Kamehameha coach Melissa Moore said. "What can we say? All three touches were beautiful and she did what she does best. This team is very passionate and energetic and they fight to the end. We are so pleased it resulted in a championship."
Halushka, who scored 16 goals during the season for Kamehameha, joined Castle’s Millie Dydasco as the only girls to score a hat trick in the state final. Dydasco did her magic in 1982 in a 6-0 win over Mililani.
"It was just boom, boom, boom," Haluska said. "It was just something that happens sometimes when you are feeling it and you have your teammates by your side. I definitely couldn’t have done it without them."
Halushka got the party started in the 11th minute when Aiea’s Taylor Bushaw-Cazimero whiffed while trying to clear it and Haluska pounced on the mistake. She got a 1-on-1 with Aiea keeper Taylor Greig-Kadokawa after one step and blasted the ball past the keeper. Halushka scored again in the 26th minute when Hannah Kaina had a shot at the top of the box but slotted it to Halushka at the point. The senior turned and drilled another hot shot over Greig-Kadokawa for a
2-0 lead. She completed her hat trick in the 36th minute when she dribbled an Aiea defender and easily deposited another one.
It was Halushka’s second hat trick of the season and she put up four goals against Mid-Pacific. Kamehameha’s win over Aiea was the biggest state championship rout since Pearl City beat Kaiser 4-0 for the crown in 1990.
Kawai Makue, who scored the lone goal in 2012 when Kamehameha won the state crown, added a fourth tally for the Warriors on a cross from Janelle Stone in the 54th minute. With Kamehameha’s defense, there was no threat of a comeback, even with Raisa Strom-Okimoto on the other side.
"It’s a lot of communication and a lot of trust," defender Sarah Lau said. "(Strom-Okimoto) is the best striker in the state and we wanted to keep an eye on her and watch the ball. Defense wins championships."
Kamehameha scored 19 goals in its run through the state tournament, easily the most since the tournament expanded to a 12-team format in 1994. The Warriors had to play four matches this week, giving up only three goals. Punahou scored 14 goals in its run to the championship in 2009. The ILH has won the last 12 titles, with Kamehameha taking five of them and eight overall.
Villaflor’s Aiea team can hold its head up after the loss, though. Na Alii finished sixth in the OIA before stringing together impressive knockouts of Kaiser, BIIF champion Konawaena and Kapolei.
"They showed who was the better team," Villaflor said. "We couldn’t get in our groove and find any space on the field. I am so proud of our girls. Everybody doubted them, but they got this far. I wish we could have put up a better fight, but that is the best team in the state over there."
THIRD PLACE
MILILANI 2, KAPOLEI 0
Goal scorers: Mililani–Cassandra Stetser (41:24), Gabrielle Fukumoto (79:42)
FIFTH PLACE
‘IOLANI 3, KS-MAUI 0
Goal scorers: Iolani–Megan Goo (52:00, 70:00), Shaye Villanueva (79:00)
CONSOLATION
KAISER 0, CASTLE 0
ALL-TOURNAMENT TEAM
Kayla Mizo, Kamehameha
Shyann Moriguchi, Kamehameha
Sarah Lau, Kamehameha
Hannah Kaina, Kamehameha
Raisa Strom-Okimoto, Aiea
Jordan Hill, Aiea
Arielle Stoyanow, Kapolei
Kelli Fryxell, Kapolei
Tia Furuta, Mililani
Cassandra Stetser, Mililani
Goalkeeper: Sisilia Meli, Kamehameha
Most Outstanding Player: Kiani Halushka, Kamehameha
