Kalaheo kept up the heavy pressure, striving for a goal that seemed like it would never come, no matter what the Mustangs tried.

Trailing by a goal in the second half of Saturday night’s Oahu Interscholastic Association Division II boys soccer championship game, Kalaheo (10-2) continued to get denied by Waialua until finally breaking through with an equalizer on Kai Takahashi’s acrobatic goal in the 58th minute.

Later, in the 70th minute, Jack Lemonds’ goal put the Mustangs ahead for good in what turned out to be a 3-1 victory over the Bulldogs at Kaiser Stadium. Each team played one half into whipping, 20 mph winds that also made the 71 degree temperatures feel cooler.

Just three minutes after Lemonds’ go-ahead effort, Kalaheo’s Jaden Amasiu found the net for the final count.

“We tried to stay calm and not panic,” Mustangs coach John Nakagawa said. “It was hard to control the ball. The wind doesn’t allow you to play the game you want. We tried to be as dangerous as we could and we scored on a set piece. That’s what it came down to, taking advantage of opportunities when you’re presented with them.”

All three goals were assisted by Haden Brown. On the tying goal, Takahashi jumped high to get a knee-high corner kick from Brown that he redirected into the goal with the side of his foot.

The goals by Lemonds and Amasiu were off of crosses from Brown.

“Really, this is the first step to states,” Brown said about the Mustangs’ seventh overall OIA championship and second in D-II. “It’s been a while since Kalaheo has won (a title), so we’ll have to have that same mentality at states. We’re there to win and we’ll give it our all and see what happens.”

Waialua (4-8) had the wind at its back in the first half and grabbed a 1-0 lead on Ezra Sheridan’s goal in the 25th minute. On that play, Kalaheo failed to clear and the ball caromed back and forth among players of both teams before it landed on the foot of Sheridan, who found the top right corner.

Bulldogs coach John Rosa knew his team would be tested heavily in the second half. Led by goalkeeper Likeke Lacar, they held off the Mustangs for as long as possible. They faced nine second-half corner kicks from Kalaheo.

“We couldn’t get the ball out of there,” Rosa said about Kalaheo’s late onslaught. “The wind was unreal.”