The seventh annual Veterans Cup is the United States Adult Soccer Association's national championship for women over 30 years and men over 40.

Five of the 10 championship games featured teams from Hawai'i. Leahi Blue won the over-30 women's division on Saturday for Hawai'i's first Veterans Cup title ever.

"It doesn't matter what division you are playing in," said John Fink, a member of Honolulu United and president and general manager of KHNL and K5. "Any time you can win anything of a national caliber it is exciting."

Along with the on-field success, Hawai'i soccer received a boost from playing tournament host for the second consecutive year.

"I think the tournament has been a first-class event," Veterans Cup chairman Tim Busch said.

"It was very well done," United States Adult Soccer Association chairman Mike Edwards said. "This facility is stunning and it is perfect soccer-playing conditions out here."

Fifty-eight teams from 17 states participated in the tournament that began Wednesday.

In yesterday's men's over-40 first division final, Ben Bystrom scored two goals and Chris Kumagai added an insurance goal for Honolulu United.

Bystrom scored his first in the 61st minute on a header off a floating cross from Joe Turbin.

"We talked about that before the game. We scored a couple of goals on crosses (the last time we played Sacramento) to the back door so we thought we'd stick with that," Turbin, an emergency medicine physician, said.

Bystrom also scored on a deflection off a shot from Tom Watson in the 74th minute.

Bystrom, who has been working in New York and Japan as an investment banker, said, "This is kind of the reason I came back after 20 years, to play with these guys."

Kumagai, a systems programmer for the University of Hawai'i athletic department, scored in the 83rd minute on a 60-yard dribble that ended with a chipped shot over the Sacramento goalkeeper's head.

Although Honolulu United was the only Hawai'i team to come away with a win yesterday, several other Hawai'i teams were happy with the level of competition and camaraderie.

"Just to be a part of the Veterans Cup; for me it's an honor to play with local people, to represents the roots of where you've been raised," said Millie Dydasco, who lived in San Francisco for 14 years.

Dydasco played for Vaiete, which lost to San Francisco, 1-0 in overtime, in the over-40 premier division.

"It's a very high level, a lot of the players here have played against each other in college," said Dydasco, who played for San Francisco State and professionally in Japan and Brazil.

"It's amazing, you've got highly fit over-40 women at this level," she said. "Some have two, three, four kids. For players and mothers to come out, it's amazing for them to be competing at a high pace."

Other finals featuring Hawai'i teams included the women's over-40 first division, with NW Connection defeating Imua Wahine, 5-0, and the women's over-50 division, with Shear Power of Washington beating Vaiete (Hawai'i), 2-1 in overtime.

"It was so exciting, there were really good players and we were just excited to be there," Casey Adams of Vaiete's over-50 team said. "All the teams were so nice, and that's what made it a lot of fun too, really good soccer and really good people."

Although the Veterans Cup won't be back until after 2007, according to Busch, he said the idea of bringing it back to Hawai'i has been "well-received."

Honolulu United over-40 team members: Jeff Bancroft, Ben Bystrom, Salvador Cabrera, Nick Detor, John Fink, Peter Gaskell, Lawrence Glenn, Bill Hoshino, Jon Dean, Kenan Knieriem, Chris Kumagai, Steve Legare, Charles Loomis, Tom McClain, Angus McKibbin, Jim Moonier, Oren Schlieman, Eric Smith, Joe Turbin, Kent Untermann, Greg Van Cantfort, Jim Vander Kamp, Craig Watanabe, Tom Watson, Dwight Perkins.