An undefeated regular season put a spotlight on the Big Island’s most consistent Division I soccer program and a rising talent looking to take his team to the next level in state competition.
Kealakehe midfielder Laukoa Santos was named Big Island Interscholastic Federation Division I Player of the Year in Boys Soccer earlier this week, as voted on by coaches throughout the league.
“It feels great to be the first sophomore to accomplish this. Hard work definitely pays off,” said Santos. “I thank the BIIF for granting me this award but I remain hungry for more.”
Santos, just a sophomore, scored 23 goals and added on 26 assists.
“He is, unarguably I think, the best soccer player on the Big Island right now,” said Kealakehe coach Urs Leuenberger. “His technical ability, I mean, anybody who sees him play can just tell how talented the kid is. A lot of people don’t know him, but he can go for a full 80 minutes. He’s extremely conditioned, the best on the team. He consistently passes all the conditioning tests we always have, and he’s always first in every category.”
Punahou presented a challenge to Santos in the Outrigger Resorts/Hawai’i High School Athletic Association Division I Boys Soccer Championships, giving Leuenberger an opportunity to see how much room Santos still has to grow.
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“He can definitely grow size-wise,” Leuenberger explained. “He’s not the biggest kid yet, and I think at times, he can feel that, especially when we played in states against Punahou. They put someone with more body on him. He wasn’t always successful with what he intended to do.”
Santos’ aspirations on the pitch go far beyond the high school level. He told Big Island Now that he hopes to get an opportunity to take his game to the next level, singling out the Seattle Sounders Academy as a place where he would like to identify his future potential. The Sounders compete in Major League Soccer.
In Division II, Kamehameha-Hawai’i swept the major awards. Senior forward Dominik Pajimola closed out his soccer career by receiving the Division II Player of the Year award.
“He played with a lot of motivation and confidence he did not have his junior and sophomore seasons,” said his coach, Mario Patino. “After losing our first three matches at the beginning of the season, he asked me what he needed to do. I told him point blank, ‘you need to believe in yourself, become a leader on the field, and play every game like its your last.’ What makes Dominik stand out was his willingness to help his team achieve the goal that they set that the beginning of the season, making it to states.”
Pajimola scored 23 goals on 38 shots on goal. He assisted on five other goals.
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“Dominik had a fantastic season. His amount of goal scoring opportunities increased with a change in formation we used this year (4:3:3) and personnel that could distribute the ball to him,” Patino explained.
Three of his goals were scored in the Outrigger Resorts/HHSAA Boys Soccer Division II Tournament, leading to his placement on the All-Tournament Team
Patino was named BIIF Division II Coach of the Year after leading to the Warriors to an 8-4 league record and a spot in the Outrigger Resorts/HHSAA Boys Soccer Division II Championship. Kamehameha-Hawai’i lost to Mid-Pacific 7-1 in the title match.
“For me to get coach of the year, it is a real honor. I was honestly speechless and needed to read the paper five times,” said Patino “My team is not the most skilled group of guys.We had a lot of challenges we needed to work through together. We played well enough to win games but many of those games were tight wins. We play well under this pressure. We were underdogs the whole season, so for my peers to recognize what it took as a coaching staff to get these guys to succeed against our island’s top programs is an honor.”
2014-2015 BIIF All-Soccer Awards
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Division I
First Team
Forward – Nicholas Carter (Hilo)
Forward – Tyler Deverse (Kealakehe)
Forward – Max Adolf (Waiakea)
Midfielder – Laukoa Santos (Kealakehe)
Midfielder – Josh Lopez (Kealakehe)
Midfielder – Sergio Garcia (Konawaena)
Midfielder – Tyler Kerr (Waiakea)
Defender – Ari Mench (Kealakehe)
Defender – James Caudell (Kealakehe)
Defender – Jonah Palakiko (Kealakehe)
Defender – Kolby Martin (Konawaena)
Goalkeeper – Greyson Moore (Kealakehe)
Honorable Mention
Forwards
Kahale Huddleston (Hilo)
Jace Taka (Hilo)
Richard Hatori-Kanakaole (Kea’au)
Nick Joersz (Kealakehe)
Tate Whitney (Kealakehe)
Michael Gusman (Konawaena)
Ryan Mariano (Konawaena)
Zac Correa (Waiakea)
Roy Atallah (Waiakea)
Midfielders
Kalei Tolentino-Perry (Hilo)
River Brown (Hilo)
Rayce Takayesu (Hilo)
Keola Kelekolio (Hilo)
Justin Quesada (Kea’au)
Spencer Hanza (Kea’au)
Rico-Logan Handy (Kea’au)
Matt Castro (Kealakehe)
Alex Grace-Double (Kealakehe)
Bailey Hanato (Konawaena)
Logan Takizawa (Konawaena)
Miles Marshall (Waiakea)
Gehrig Octavio (Waiakea)
Defenders
Rylen Kaniaupio (Hilo)
Aris Aynessazian (Hilo)
Jon “Brandon” Baca (Hilo)
Noah Catcho (Hilo)
Hoaka Kanaina-Cortes (Kea’au)
Brandon Ramey (Kea’au)
Ian Denzer (Kealakehe)
Skye Suzuki (Konawaena)
Mahina Ellis-Noa (Konawaena)
Cyrus Amaral-Antonio (Waiakea)
Tyrin Amaral-Antonio (Waiakea)
Brennan Yamamoto (Waiakea)
Daylon Oshiro-Hada (Waiakea)
Goalkeepers
Ka’aina Lewis (Hilo)
Anthony Ward (Konawaena)
Christopher Wung (Waiakea)
Player of the Year – Laukoa Santos (Kealakehe)
Coach of the Year – Urs Leuenberger (Kealakehe)
Division II
First Team
Forward – Justin Perry (Hawai’i Preparatory Academy)
Forward – Dominik Pajimola (Kamehameha-Hawai’i)
Forward – Aidan Alcos (Makua Lani)
Midfielder – Braden Kojima (Hawai’i Preparatory Academy)
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