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| Brothers Bobby, Ricky and Randy Shinn, along with coach Scott Keopuhiwa, have led Pearl City's Chargers to a 12-0 record entering the state tournament.
Eugene Tanner • The Honolulu Advertiser |
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By Dennis Anderson
Advertiser Staff Writer
If defense wins championships, allowing one goal every fourth game makes a pretty clear statement.
Add an offense that averages five goals a game, and Pearl City’s No. 1 seed in this week’s AT&T Wireless Boys State Soccer Championships is almost a no-brainer.
The Chargers charged through the O‘ahu Interscholastic Association season with a 12-0-0 record, 60 goals scored and 3 goals allowed. They shut out 10 of 12 opponents.
"We’re a little more proud of the goals against us than the goals for us," said Scott Keopuhiwa, who has guided the Chargers to a 28-1 overall record in his first head coaching assignment. "Our defense really stepped it up."
They’ll need to keep stepping up to get past the talented teams in the state tournament, which runs tomorrow through Saturday at Aloha Stadium. Pearl City and the other three seeded teams, defending champion and No. 2 ‘Iolani, No. 3 Baldwin and No. 4 Hilo all get free passes through the first round and play their first games on Thursday.
"Throughout the OIA West season (nine games), we allowed one goal," Keopuhiwa noted. "Good teams tend to get a goal here and there. Give credit to all four defenders and our keeper and also the whole team because defense starts up front for us."
Those four defenders are sweeper Randy Shinn, stopper Kevin Palafox, left fullback Colin Yuh and right fullback Alan Domingo.
"The fullbacks have been challenged by pretty tough forwards, and they’ve always risen to the occasion," Keopuhiwa said.
Goalkeeper Matt Egami said they make his job easy. "I don’t have a whole lot to do because our defense is really good. Any shot they (opponents) get is at least outside the 18 (penalty area) or farther."
Egami personally has allowed one goal, to Mililani on Dec. 22. He said his vision was blocked on the play and he didn’t see the ball until it was "right there."
In their last eight games, the only two goals scored against the Chargers were by Kailua, against a reserve goalie after Pearl City had taken a 6-0 lead.
Pearl City’s defense doesn’t just happen. "Many of our exercises and training sessions have defensive themes," Keopuhiwa said. "We try to put our players into pressure situations during practice so hopefully they have composure when they face them come game time."
The focus on defense is logical, Keopuhiwa said. "If we didn’t have the ball, we wouldn’t be able to run our offense, so we need to stop the other team and gain possession."
The Chargers excel offensively, too. Randy Shinn’s twin brother, Bobby, is O‘ahu’s leading boys scorer with 19 goals so far.
Robby and Randy’s younger brother, sophomore Ricky, also is among the Island’s leaders with 10 goals. "I see a great future for him," Keopuhiwa said. "He’s got Division I college potential — 6 feet tall, equally good with his left or right foot, and dominating in the air."
Keopuhiwa said his players have had "great attitudes all year. We have emphasized that the team is more important than any individual and the kids bought into that system. A lot of them made personal sacrifices of glory for the team.
"Bobby Shinn, Randy Shinn and (midfielder) Reid Kobashigawa have all showed senior leadership that has helped the team rise to the occasion. I couldn’t have asked for more."
The Chargers’ only defeat was to Mililani, last year’s state runner-up, 1-0 in the final of the preseason Kaiser Tournament.
"The loss made my boys refocus," Keopuhiwa said. "They’ve never been behind in a game since."
The Chargers avenged the loss twice, beating the Trojans, 3-1, at Mililani on Dec. 22 and 1-0 in the OIA championship game Feb. 3.
"In the championship game they put us back on our heels but our defense dug in and refused to lose," Keopuhiwa said. "Our keeper came up big and our defenders headed the ball off the goal-line."
Keopuhiwa replaced Frank Baumholtz II, who guided the Chargers to the state championship in 1999. Baumholtz has continued to be an assistant to Archie Chung with the girls’ team.
Keopuhiwa, 30, was junior varsity boys coach at Punahou last year. He is prominent in Hawai‘i’s tight-knit soccer community. He is president of the Hawai‘i Youth Soccer Association, co-coach of Leahi Soccer Club; president, and an assistant coach with the Olympic Development Program. He graduated from the Kamehameha Schools in 1988 and University of Hawai‘i in 1994. He is an accountant with a small nonprofit.
CORNER KICKS: Pearl City’s 16-1 preseason record included four victories over state tournament teams. The Chargers beat Kamehameha twice, 4-1 and 2-0; Hawai‘i Prep, 3-1; and Baldwin, 1-0, in the championship game of the highly regarded Maui tournament. They also blanked Punahou, 3-0. ... Scott Keopuhiwa said ‘Iolani and Baldwin are the top teams to watch out for this week. "The No. 1 seed is flattering, but also puts you in the hot seat. It directs a lot of attention to your team," he said, adding, "I think we’ll be ready for the challenge."
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