Kalani captures first-ever OIA championship

Kalani's Takahiro Kosins scored the game's only goal in the 31st minute to lift the Falcons over Kaiser for the school's first ever OIA title. CJ Caraang | SL

KAPOLEI — It's been a long time coming.

Takahiro Kosins' goal in the 31st minute proved to be the difference as Kalani edged Kaiser, 1-0, for its first-ever league title Saturday night.

A crowd of 300 at Kapolei Stadium were on hand to see the East top-seeded Falcons (13-0) register their second straight shutout to complete an undefeated run through the Oahu Interscholastic Association.

"It feels great. It's my third year here and I couldn't be any happier," said Kosins. "I'm glad I got to share it with all these guys."

Kosins, who is now tied with Kapolei's Shandon Hopeau as the state's leading scorer with 28 goals, nearly scored 30 seconds into the match coming down the right side of the field. The senior forward got by two defenders, but missed his shot wide left.

Another opportunity in the 28th minute was swallowed up by three Kaiser defenders that quickly got back to contain Kosins.

Understanding how the defense was playing him, Kosins notched the lone goal of the match off of a Kaiser defender's leg coming down the left side of the field. The shot on goal took a fortunate bounce that went over the goalkeeper's head and into the net.

"My coach told me to use my speed so I drove it down the line as fast as I could," said Kosins. "I tried to rip it with my left foot. The keeper was coming over and it kind of ricocheted as it was going in the goal, but a goal is a goal. It lifted our spirits and gave us the edge we needed to help us win this championship."

The East second-seeded Cougars, who was coming off a 3-0 win over Radford in the semifinals, dropped to 9-3-1.

Kaiser coach Marco Antonio Gloria said that his team's play was affected by Kosins' goal.

"They lost a little bit of their heart with that goal," he said. "We didn't play like we normally did. If we played how we did against Radford two days ago, we would have won 3-0. It's a young team, it happens."

Getting the first goal of the match aided the Falcons as Kaiser had to be the aggressors in the second half.

"We had some good configurations in the second half, but by then it was too late," said Garcia, whose team last won the title in 2014. "(Kalani) was just desperate and sending the balls deep."

Although Garcia believes the Falcons were playing keep-away, Kosins was still in attack mode for the most part, getting two shots on goal in the final 10 minutes that were inches away from hitting net.

"They say attack is the best defense," said Kosins. "It kind of kept them on their heels and didn't allow them to be calm in the back. The high pressure helped us ease through the rest of the game."

The Falcons also held the state's third leading scorer in Kaiser freshman forward Makana Srivongsana without a goal in the match, accomplishing this feat with their best fullback out with an injury, Kosins' twin brother Toshihiro.

Both teams will be two of the six OIA teams that will represent the league in the Queen's Medical Center/Hawaii High School Athletic Association Division I Boys Soccer Championships, which begins on Feb. 24.