Kalani overpowers Pearl City to reach D1 quarters

Kalani's Travis Brubaker battles Pearl City's Alexander Argujo for possession. Brubaker scored twice for the Falcons, who advanced to the quarterfinals with a win over Pearl City. Brien Ing | ScoringLive

Nine days removed from a shut out loss to Kapolei in the OIA Division I title game, Kalani found its groove offensively, posting a 6-1 win over Pearl City on its soggy home field in the opening round of The Queen's Medical Center/HHSAA Division I boys soccer tournament.

"We were down about the loss (to Kapolei) and we just wanted to come out here and show everyone that reallly didn't represent us that game," said midfielder Travis Brubaker.

And that they did, jumping out to a quick lead as Kanta Oka opened up the scoring Kalani just five minutes in.

Brubaker's score came in the 25th minute off of a set piece, putting the Chargers in a precarious position barely midway through the half.

"I was trying to flick it for people in the back post to get a goal (chance) but luckily it went it in," said Brubaker.

Brandon Lee scored the third goal of the half for the Falcons in the 33rd minute, and the rout was on.

The one gray cloud for Kalani in the match came in the misconduct department, as two players were carded in the second half, one a yellow in the 50th minute and the other a red in the 52nd.

On the free kick immediately following the yellow, Pearl City capitalized, with Cody Ohira getting the credit for the score with the header past the keeper.

Despite a player being sent off due to the red didn't deter the Falcons, however, as they scored twice in a span of just two minutes following the infraction, one by Brubaker and the other by Jenson Fuse.

"I think they kind of pushed forward after that (red card)," said Brubaker, "because they thought they could take advantage of man down so they were left exposed."

For good measure, Jason Choi found himself wide open just outside the box in the 58th and struck a shot that lasered past the keeper for the game's final score.

Next up for the Falcons is a match against fourth seed and MIL champion Kekaulike. The two teams met in the quarterfinals in 2018, with Na Alii knocking off the then-OIA champions, 2-1.