Kailua’s Graham Is East Co-Player Of Year For OIA Soccer
After a stellar junior year, much was expected of Naia Graham as he and the Surfriders entered the 2014-15 prep soccer season.
Despite missing the first four games, Graham delivered big once again for Kailua, scoring a state-leading 28 goals in 11 appearances. He scored in all 11 games he played, while tallying five goals each on three separate occasions (versus McKinley, Farrington and Kaimuki).
Graham was recently named an OIA East First Team All-Star. (All-stars are chosen in a vote of league coaches at season’s end.) He also was East’s Co-Player of the Year (shared with Kaiser High’s Christian Longnecker) in 2013-14 after scoring 13 goals.
Kailua finished 9-6 overall last year and captured the OIA White title, shutting out Waialua (1-0) and Waipahu (6-0), respectively. A pair of heartbreaking losses on penalty kicks to both Honokaa and Seabury Hall ended Kailua’s bid for a state title at the Division II soccer championships.
Kailua teammate Dustin Imanaka also was named to the First Team as a defender. Colin Kubota, Trevor Tam and Ripley Quebral earned Honorable Mentions.
In Division I, Kahuku had a pair of First Team All-Stars in Gabriel Pinheirol-Alves and Peter Hyatt. Senior attacker Pinheirol-Alves scored a team-high 14 goals for Kahuku. Hyatt is a senior midfielder.
Kahuku finished 11-5 overall and took fifth in the OIA Red post-season tournament. The team went on to the DI soccer championships and reached the quarterfinals with a first-round win over Baldwin before losing to eventual state champ Mililani.
The Red Raiders also placed midfielder Mikel Sodini and defender Stokes Nihipali-Botelho on the East’s Second Team, while Jurell Kai and Braxton Medeiros received Honorable Mentions.
Jhonah Felipe was named to the First Team from Kalaheo. A senior attacker, he scored 16 goals for the Mustangs, who finished 8-5-2 overall.
The Mustangs went 7-1-2 in the season to earn the East’s No. 2 seed for the OIA Red postseason tournament. A win over Castle lifted Kalaheo into the semifinals, where it dropped a heartbreaker to eventual OIA and state champ Mililani, in the second overtime. Kalaheo finished fourth in the OIA after a loss to Kapolei. The Mustangs moved on to the DI state championships the following week, but losses to Punahou and Moanalua ended their season.
Mustang goalie Jack Bell was picked for the Second Team, while teammates Tommy Capllonch, Thomas Focht, Jaimes Geren, Jonathan LeVine, Kai Morgan and Triston Thulin received Honorable Mentions.
DJ Chinen made the Second Team from Castle. A senior attacker, he scored 11 goals for the Knights, who finished 5-8 overall. Earning Honorable Mention were Devin Gaspar, JP Linhares, Micah Moon, Alex Tovar and Kai Zimmerman.
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