Iolani's Dustin Wagner dribbles the ball up the pitch against Punahou. Scott Nishi | SL

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Iolani's Josh Adachi secures the ball after a shot attempt by Punahou. Scott Nishi | SL

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Iolani's Keoni Makekau soars to make contact with the ball against Punahou. Scott Nishi | SL

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Punahou's Scott Higa battles Iolani's Tyler McKenna for possession. Scott Nishi | SL

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Iolani players celebrate with the trophy after defeating Punahou to win the Division I title. Scott Nishi | SL

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Sat, Feb 15, 2014 @ Waipio

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Punahou

0

Iolani

2

Final	1st	2nd	OT	2OT	PK	Tot
Punahou (11-5-3)	0	0	-	-	-	0
Iolani (17-0-1)	0	0	-	-	-	2

M. Ching    K. Makekau

WAIPAHU — The Iolani boys soccer team achieved perfection Saturday night.

Max Ching and Keoni Makekau each scored a second-half goal to lift Iolani to a 2-0 win over Punahou in the title game of the 41st Annual Outrigger Hotels and Resorts/Hawaii High School Athletic Association Division I State Championships.

The Raiders completed a 15-0 season to lay claim to their ninth state crown in school history before a crowd of about 2,300 at Waipio Peninsula Soccer Complex.

"This feels good because the past two years we came up short and we had the potential to win it," said Ching, a junior midfielder. "I just feel the past two years we haven't been giving it our all and finally to win it in my third year it feels great. For all the hard work, it was about time we won."

It is Iolani's first state championship since 2009. The Raiders were simply dominant this season, outscoring their opponents 63 to 7 — even going without a single tie this year.

"It wasn't something we focused on, we just focused on every game and playing our game and trying to get the result that we needed to get," Iolani coach Chris Lee said. "We felt confident in our game plan and the players understood what they needed to do to get the result."

The Raiders were the top seed in the 12-team tournament and defeated 2013 state champion Kalani and second-seeded Kamehameha-Maui en route to the title game.

"We expected everyone to come out hard against us, so for us it was just a challenge," said Iolani goal keeper Josh Adachi, who made three saves Saturday and was named the tournament's most outstanding player. "We had to accept it every step of the way and we dealt with it well."

The teams played a scoreless first half before the Raiders broke through with Ching's goal in the 58th minute — his fifth this year. The play started with Spencer Ho, who dropped off a pass along the left sideline to Dustin Wagner. Wagner sent a cross in front of the goal and Ching one-timed it past Punahou goalie Henry Engel.

"Dustin was dribbling down the left side, he cut a cross and I was in the right place at the right time," Ching said. "He played a nice ball and I just kicked it in with my left foot."

Iolani added an insurance goal in the 74th minute when Makekau capitalized on a misplayed ball by Engel. Ronnie Bartenstein fired a shot from the right side of the 18-yard box that Engel tried to grab, but instead deflected and Makekau was there to finish it with his right foot. It was his seventh goal of the season.

Lee said his halftime message was simple: keep doing what we do.

"At halftime I told them to just continue to play our game, continue to do what got us here," Lee said. "There wasn't any need for change, it was just about maintaining our composure and continuing to knock the ball around and our chances were going to come."

It was the third time the teams met this season. Iolani won 2-0 back on Dec. 21 and 4-2 on Jan. 21.

"They're a good team and we knew, pretty much all year from the get-go, that they were going to be the best team and they proved it on the field all year, so we feel very blessed and fortunate to be even playing them in the final," Punahou coach David Trifonovitch said. "We lost to a great team — they really were the best team in the state this year — so for anybody to beat them, it would have been a pretty big upset."

The Buffanblu finished the season with a 9-4-3 record after finishing as runners-up to the Raiders in the Interscholastic League of Honolulu.

Punahou's Alec Dinsmore, Antonio Espinoza and Brian Yanagi were named to the All-Tournament Team. Iolani was represented by Adachi, Ho, Ching, KJ Ahlo and Timmy Leong.

OUTRIGGER HOTELS & RESORTS/HHSAA BOYS SOCCER STATE CHAMPIONSHIP
Division I All-Tournament Team (as selected by the media and HHSAA)
KJ Ahlo, Iolani
Micah Alo, Kamehameha-Maui
Thomas Butenbah-Leong, Kaiser
Max Ching, Iolani
Alec Dinsmore, Punahou
Antonio Espinoza, Punahou
Spencer Ho, Iolani
Timmy Leong, Iolani
Jaren Otani, Baldwin
Avinash Singh, Kamehameha-Maui
Brian Yanagi, Punahou
Most Oustanding Player: Josh Adachi, Iolani