HSC Bulls' Duke Hashimoto, front, and Lanikai Tuesday's Alex Economou challenge for the ball in the MISO Divsion I championship game at Waipi'o Peninsula Soccer Stadium. The Bulls won, 2-0. Rebecca Breyer • The Honolulu Advertiser

Hashimoto scored a goal in the Bulls' 2-0 win over veteran Lanikai Tuesday in the Men's Island Soccer Organization Spring Championship game yesterday at the Waipi'o Peninsula Soccer Stadium.

"That always helps, playing against older, stronger guys," said Hashimoto, who scored two minutes into the game on a penalty kick after forward Satoshi Mitsuda was taken down in the penalty box.

Eight of the 16 Bulls playing in yesterday's game have either signed scholarships or are negotiating with NCAA Division I schools. In addition, the Bulls are preparing for this month's U.S. Youth Soccer Far West Regionals in Spokane, Wash., a premier youth soccer tournament.

"The physical play helps us," said Bulls co-captain Stephen Carlson. "We don't usually get that."

The Bulls are made up of recent high school graduates — some as recently as Friday and last night — Hashimoto, who will be a junior at SMU, and Mitsuda, who graduated in 2002. Lanikai Tuesday is made up of much older and experienced players, who also had an obvious size advantage over their much younger counterparts.

"When we first started playing this, we had to learn to play faster, if you didn't play fast they would hurt us," Hashimoto said. "Our team has always been small, so it's something we have to deal with."

Bulls midfielder David Gualdarama, who scored an insurance goal in the 53rd minute, said playing against physical players helps the team learn how to play a more physical game.

"You just have to try to play quicker," said Gualdarama, who will play for New Mexico in the fall.

Gualdarama scored after Kaui Wong, who will play for the University of San Diego, passed a long ball up the middle of the field and Mitsuda "dummied" the ball, letting it pass between his legs. drawing defenders to him and leaving Gualdarama the open field.

"It was a great pass," Gualdarama said. "The goalie committed himself and I had an open goal."

It was a typical play for the Bulls, who were able to use their youth to their advantage in yesterday's game, beating Lanikai Tuesday to a lot of loose balls and letting their youthful legs take over when the hot afternoon sun began taking effect.

The Bulls won their second MISO championship in as many weeks after capturing the Robledo Cup, a tournament that pits Division I against Division II teams.

They actually received a wild card into the MISO Division I tournament after two of the top four teams, both from Hawai'i Pacific, could not field teams because their players returned home for the summer.

It gave the Bulls, who finished fifth in the regular season with a 7-2-5 record, a spot in the Division I tournament.

Lanikai Tuesday finished second (9-4-1) in the regular season.

"I like to think we are older and wiser, but they had the advantage today," Lanikai Tuesday goalkeeper Josh Fouts said. "Hopefully playing in this league is going to give them the best games on the island."

Carlson said the physical play wasn't the only advantage the team would get out of playing in the championship game.

"We get more experience, playing in a championship game that's worth something," he said.

Division II

Matt Alices scored two goals to lead H2 United past Aloha Amazon, 2-1, for the Division II title.

Alices scored what proved to be the game-winning goal in the 84th minute off a long, floating ball from Jared Shirai. Alices collected, got around the goalkeeper and finished into the open goal.

Alices and Aloha Amazon's Cesar Jube scored first-half goals.

H2 United and Aloha Amazon will move up to Division I next season after finishing in the top two of Division II.