Makana Srivongsana and the Cougars take on Duncan McKenna and the Buffanblu Monday night for the Division I championship. Crizalmer Caraang Jr. | SL

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There are both similarities and stark differences when looking at the Kaiser and Punahou boys soccer teams.

Both teams entered last week's Queen's Medical Center/HHSAA Division I State Championships unseeded after losing in their respective league postseasons. Both took out two league champions en route to being the last two squads standings.

And then there is this glaring disparity: Kaiser has never won a state title in boys soccer. Punahou has won 19 of them.

The Cougars (14-1-1) and Buffanblu (12-2-2) are meeting two days later than they anticipated — blame Saturday morning's heavy rainfall — for all the proverbial marbles.

After winning 10 of its first 11 games, Kaiser suffered its lone loss of the year — 1-0 to eventual-league champion Kapolei — in the semifinals of the OIA tournament on Jan. 26. It rebounded with a 2-0 win over rival Kalani to finished third in the OIA.

"We've had ups and downs with injuries, (but) we just keep grinding and that's our main focus," Kaiser first-year coach Layne Abalos said. "Our fitness has been great, the kids just listen and play the game the right way and good things happen when we're working hard."

The Cougars opened the state tournament with a bang, racking up six goals in a shut out over Hilo Monday.

Despite having to fly in and out of Hilo the day of the game, the first-round win set the tone for the rest of the week.

"It gave us a lot of time to practice and try out different things see what worked and we built it up from there and then fix things up a little bit more in practice," said sophomore forward Makana Srivongsana, who is tied for the state lead in goals scored.

Srivongana scored what was eventually the deciding goal in Thursday's 2-1 quarterfinal upset of ILH champion and No. 2 seed Iolani. The Cougars got nine saves from goalkeeper Brandon Yasue in the win.

"I think Brandon came in huge. If it wasn't for him then we'd probably be in overtime or in PKs," said senior midfielder Hunter Yamanaka, who scored Kaiser's other goal against the Raiders.

One night later, the Cougars claimed another victim in MIL titlist and third-seeded Baldwin. Junior midfielder Noah Mokulehua scored the lone goal on a header in the 48th minute, off a corner kick from Motoki Sato.

Kaiser's defense turned in a clean sheet against the previously-unbeaten Bears and arguably one of the state's top offensive players in forward Angelo Deloso-Flocco, who is tied with Srivongsana with 21 goals this season.

Abalos said his defensive line of Colin Wheatley, Kai Cordrey, David Cito-Rodrigues, Brian Arseneau and Yuki Enomoto have been a steadying force in the back.

"You can't say enough about those guys in the back. They've played really well for us all year," Abalos said.

The Cougars will be playing in their first state final since 2011, when they lost to … Punahou. The Buffanblu eased their way to a 5-0 victory that year — which was also the last time two unseeded teams met in the title game — but needed two overtimes to get by Kaiser in the 2014 state quarterfinals.

"Being in the final in my first year, it's unbelievable," Abalos said. "It's an unbelievable ride. The kids really want it, they always had the talent. I think the assistant coaches did a phenomenal job with them, training, and they're putting it together."

Meanwhile, Punahou is no stranger to playing in the big game. Monday's final will be its sixth championship final in the last eight years.

Unlike their run to the 2016 crown — when they were seeded second — the Buffanblu failed to win the ILH this year, albeit by the narrowest of margins.

After the two teams finished with identical regular-season records, Punahou hosted Iolani in a winner-take-all playoff game for the league title and a seeded berth at the state tournament.

The Buffanblu held a 1-0 lead — thanks to a 43rd-minute goal by Noah Williams of an assist from Duncan McKenna — but allowed the equalizer with just one minute remaining in regulation, and eventually fell short in penalty kicks.

They rebounded six days later with a 2-0 win over Kalani in Monday's opening round of states before following that up with a 3-1 quarterfinal win over BIIF champion and fourth-seed Kealakehe Thursday.

That win set-up Friday's semifinal showdown against OIA champion and No. 1 seed Kapolei, which had not lost all year.

It took two overtime periods, but the Buffanblu pulled out the victory with McKenna's team-leading 14th goal coming in the 93rd minute, off an assist from Max Moonier.

"Losing in PKs against Iolani in the ILH final was tough, so it's good to get this one," McKenna said.

The Buffanblu will try for their record 20th state championship Monday night.

"It's hard to get through the ILH, let alone the state tournament, so to get through this against a very good Kapolei team is really special," Punahou coach David Trifonovitch said.

Kickoff is slated for 6 p.m. at the Waipio Peninsula Soccer Stadium and will follow the Division II final between top-seeded Hawaii Prep and second-seeded Saint Louis at 3 p.m.