Cal-South, also known as the San Diego Surf, defeated Ho'okalakupua, 1-0, in overtime to win the girls under-12 championship of the Snickers 2003 U.S. Youth Soccer Far West Regional Championships.

Sixteen championship games in various age divisions were completed yesterday at Waipi'o Peninsula Soccer Park. It culminated a week-long event that featured 212 teams representing 13 states.

"This is the best state I've ever been to for a tournament like this," said Colin Chesters, head coach of the Surf. "It's the best weather, the best fields, the best of everything you could think of for a tournament."

It was the first time that a U.S. Youth Soccer Association regional was held in Hawai'i.

Ho'okalakupua — the Hawaiian word for magic — nearly became the first team from Hawai'i to win a regional title. They were the only Hawai'i team to advance to a championship game this week.

Their run came to a heartbreaking end on an own goal early in the first overtime.

"I couldn't be prouder," said Ho'okalakupua head coach Jason Goodson. "A bit unfortunate at the end, but it was a fantastic week for us. We're not going to let this ending spoil it for us."

Ho'okalakupua actually controlled most of the 60 minutes of regulation, but could never sneak a shot past Surf goalkeeper Stephanie Kranz. She finished with two saves, and credited her teammates for the shutout.

"Our defense was really strong today," Kranz said. "Hawai'i has strong forwards, but we kept clearing (the ball)."

Goodson estimated that 80 percent of the second half was played on Ho'okalakupua's offensive side of the field.

"But it's a matter of quality possessions rather than quantity possessions," he said. "We hammered and hammered and hammered, but in the end, we couldn't put one in the back of the net."

In the under-12 division, matches that are tied at the end of regulation can go into two 10-minute "golden goal" overtimes. If neither team scores in the two overtimes, the match is decided on penalty kicks.

It never came to that as the Surf put on an aggressive attack from the start of overtime.

On the winning play, Alissa Sanchez broke free with the ball down the right sideline and then crossed a pass into the middle of the field in front of the goal. In an effort to clear the ball, a Ho'okalakupua player inadvertently kicked the ball into the net, scoring for the Surf.

"It wasn't intentional or anything like that," Sanchez said. "But I had a feeling we would win anyway."

Chesters said Ho'okalakupua came up with the right strategy but the wrong result.

"If she had let (the ball) go, our kid was in position to put it in," he said. "It was a good defensive move, she was just caught in the wrong angle."

Ho'okalakupua went 4-2 during the week, with both losses coming by 1-0 scores on own goals against the Surf.

"We can say that we never gave up a goal to them," Goodson said. "The defensive effort on both sides was fantastic."

Rachel Domingo, one of the Ho'okalakupua defenders, added: "We held them with our defense. We knew they were fast and they like to play down the flanks, so we tried to stop them before they could get to the flanks."

Unlike the older divisions, the under-12 and under-13 champions do not advance to the national championship tournament (the older division champions advanced to the national championships at Germantown, Md., July 22-27).

"This is as far as you can get at this age, so this is a special win," Chesters said.

After the victory, the Surf players finally got to enjoy some of the famous Hawai'i surf. Chesters banned his players from the beach during the week of the tournament.

"We're going snorkeling right now," Sanchez said. "Our coach didn't want us to get sunburned and tired (during the week), but now we can go."

For Ho'okalakupua — which featured players from all over O'ahu — yesterday's result may only be the start of an annual magic act.

"Knowing we can play with what is arguably the best team in the nation can only help our confidence," Goodson said. "These girls have a whole lot of years ahead of them, and we're going to talk about this as our starting point to something better."

• Other regional champions crowned yesterday were: Colorado (boys under-19), Cal-North (boys under-18), Arizona (boys under-17), Cal-South (boys under-16), Cal-South (boys under-15), Washington (boys under-14), Cal-South (boys under-13), Colorado (boys under-12), Cal-North (girls under-19), Colorado (girls under-18), Arizona (girls under-17), Cal-South (girls under-16), Arizona (girls-under-15), Cal-South (girls under-14), Cal-South Wild (girls under-13).

• One, but not the only: Ho'okalakupua is not the only team from Hawai'i to reach a regional final. A story in yesterday's Advertiser might have implied that no Hawai'i team had ever played for a regional title.