Fit to be tied: Bears win soccer title

By Fred Guzman

MauiNow.com

One of the wildest MIL soccer seasons in memory ended in fitting fashion Saturday afternoon in Olinda.

King Kekaulike rallied for a late goal to gain a 1-1 tie at Seabury Hall, enabling Baldwin – which already had concluded its league schedule – to lay claim to both the overall and Division-I titles.

It marked the 14th deadlock in the 42 matches played in the MIL, including six involving defending overall champion Seabury.

All three teams will advance to the state tournaments Feb. 10-13 on Oahu, with the Bears receiving a seeded berth, Kekaulike going as the D-I runnerup and Seabury as the MIL’s D-II champ.

In girls’ soccer, MIL champ Baldwin is seeded third in this week’s state D-I tourney. Punahou is seeded No. 1, Mililani No. 2 and Hilo No. 4.

MIL runner-up Kekaulike opens its bid Wednesday, facing Moanalua in a 3 p.m. match at the Waipio Soccer Complex. The winner will face top-seeded Punahou at 5 p.m. Thursday.

Baldwin will face the winner of Iolani-Kapolei at 1 p.m. Thursday.

MIL D-II champ Seabury is unseeded and will open against Makua Lani of the Big Island at 3 p.m. Wednesday. The winner meets top-seeded Kailua at 3 p.m. Thursday.

The other D-II seeds: No. 2 Kapaa, No. 3 Pac-Five and No. 4 HPA.

The state canoe paddling regatta is set for Friday at the Keehi Lagoon on Oahu.

LUNAS SURVIVE: The Lahainaluna boys staged a furious rally last night to salvage a 39-35 victory over Kamehameha last night at the Lahaina Civic Center.

The comeback victory enabled the Lunas to improve their MIL record to 8-1 and they can clinch the D-I regular-season title by posting a road win over second-place Baldwin on Friday night. That game will be aired on Maui’s ESPN 550.

For three quarters last night, Kamehahema dominated the Lunas, leading 20-14 at intermission and enjoying a 29-20 edge going into the final quarter.

But the Lunas picked up the defensive pressure and the Warriors wilted, repeatedly turned the ball over as the home team outscored Kamehameha 19-6 over the final eight minutes. The Lunas also forced 11 of Kamehameha’s 22 turnovers over that span.

In the first half, Sam Kiek accounted for all 14 of Lahainaluna’s points. In the second half, it was Lukas Williams taking over as he scored all 13 of his points after intermission.

At 5-3 and coming off a close loss to Kamehameha over the weekend, Baldwin needs a win on Friday and some help to overtake the Lunas for the regular-season title and a guaranteed berth in the state tournament.

The other spot at states will go to the winner of the MIL tournament, with the league’s top seed at states going to the overall champion.