Cougars get last gasp goal from Buck to turn back Kahuku

Greg Yamamoto | SL

Kaiser needed just about every second of time allotted in order to notch a furious come-from-behind win over Kahuku, 2-1, on a blustery night at Kaiser High School Stadium.

Tristan Buck was in the right place at the right time, finding the ball on a errant clear by the Red Raiders, and made the most of the opportunity, striking the ball into the left corner of the goal for the game-sealing score.

"The defender tried to clear it but it just bounced in front of me," Buck recalled. "It was a once-in-a-lifetime kind of chance to take the shot."

"He really wanted it, he was up in the attacking area and really followed through," said Ethan Yang of Buck. "He was the top goal scorer for us in JV last year and pulled through for us this game."

Just seconds after the kickoff following the score, the final whistle blew, ending the match.

A scoreless first half saw the Red Raiders utilize their size and physicality to keep the Cougars from dictating pace.

"We're kind of used to being the faster team, the more aggressive team, but they (Kahuku) really matched us," said Yang. "Especially going against the wind, we just had to wait it out for the second half."

That plan didn't quite go exactly as drawn up, as at about the 52nd minute, Kahuku cashed in on a scoring chance despite going into the wind, when Colin Bradshaw's cross managed to sneak through the box and right to a waiting Kea Lerner on the backside of the play.

Lerner made sure to not waste a one-on-one chance against the Kaiser keeper and found the back of the net in the upper left corner to give the visiting team the lead.

Now trailing, the Cougars defintely picked up the pace on both sides of the ball, which included two chances on goal on free kicks by Yang, the second of which narrowly snuck over the top post.

In the 72nd minute, Kaiser's furious pace finally yielded fruit, as a ball bouncing around in front of goal ricocheted off a Kahuku defender and past the keeper for an equalizing own goal.

"We knew we needed goals to keep our (unbeaten) season alive, a loss or a tie could really set us back for playoffs and states, so we had to go all in," said Buck.

And with that mindet, Kaiser continued to push offensively, and that tenacity translated to a myriad of chances in the dying minutes, highlighted by one wild sequence with the ball ping ponging in front of goal for what seemed like forever in the 80th minute, before the scoring was ultimately capped off by Buck's winner.

Tobias Erikson was a force in goal for Kahuku, stopping five shots in the match. His counterpart for Kaiser, Roen McGuire also was solid, with three saves of his own.

Kahuku was seeking its first win over Kaiser since 2015, where it took down the Cougars, 4-2, in the OIA playoffs.