Their talent led to success, and their camaraderie yielded back-to-back state titles.

Baldwin High School's girls soccer team became the first Neighbor Island school to win a state title in 2000. If anybody thought the championship was a fluke, the Maui school repeated in 2001.

There was no doubt about Baldwin's talent — several players went on to star at NCAA Division I programs. But the team's chemistry brought the players together and fueled their potent offense and solid defense. Baldwin remains the only Neighbor Island team to win a boys or girls state soccer title.

"We were just so close as a team," said Nicole Garbin, who holds or shares 19 records at Oregon, where she is now a graduate student. "I found that out to be very successful at U of O, having team camaraderie and team chemistry.

"We were friends at school, we hung out all the time at school, off the field. I find out the same up here."

Like most Neighbor Island teams coming into a state tournament, there was an assumption that O'ahu schools were a step ahead. The Bears dispelled that idea.

"It's a big achievement, not only for Baldwin, but for outer island schools," said goalkeeper Mahie Atay, who played at Hawai'i. "And coming out of a public school ... usually it's Kamehameha or Punahou that's been always winning. That was a big accomplishment for us all."

SMALL BUT BIG

The smallest Baldwin player played above her 4-foot-11 frame to lead the third-seeded Bears to their first state title. Alana Souza scored 20 minutes into the first half of the championship game, and her goal held up in a 1-0 win over Pearl City at Aloha Stadium on Feb. 19, 2000.

"She had excellent skills and footwork," Baldwin coach Kawika Keator said. "She would never give up. She was the one that was our assist maker. She would take the ball down the wing and make the passes. Her footwork was unbelievable, not only on offense, but she would always drop back and be on defense."

Shawna Shimamura set up Souza's goal. Shimamura beat a Pearl City player who took a stab at the ball, and took the ball to the goal line before sending a cross to Souza. Souza shot from 15 yards on the left side and the ball entered the right corner of the goal.

UNEXPECTED WIN

Garbin, who earned the first of two state player of the year honors that year, remembers the first championship the most "because it was really unexpected then for an outer island school to win a state championship."

Also on that weekend, the Baldwin boys swim team won a state title and the boys wrestling and basketball teams won league titles.

The Bears needed overtime just to advance in the state tournament. Baldwin defeated Mililani, 2-1, in overtime in the quarterfinals with Shimamura forcing overtime on a goal with less than two minutes remaining in regulation. She scored the game-winner on a 35-yard kick seven minutes into overtime.

"At that time, we had so many girls who could shoot from 30 yards out," Keator said. "I used to tell them if we don't shoot we won't score, so I had them shoot from 30 to 40 yards out."

The 1-0 score in the Bears' semifinal win over 'Aiea masked Baldwin's offensive threat. The Bears fired 30 shots at freshman goalkeeper Diana Shiroma, who made 19 saves.

"You look at their team, and it was tough to try to beat them, since we didn't have the same kind of talent," said 'Aiea's Joelle Sugai, who played at Hawai'i and is now an assistant for 'Aiea. "But it was such an honor and privilege to play against them, especially since they went on to win."

STRONG TEAM

Baldwin had a solid lineup with Garbin, Shimamura, Souza and Kami Kapaku on offense. Kalena Eaton and Tia Medeiros controlled midfield and goalkeeping duties were split between Atay and Kim Kawahara, who played the entire year with a torn ACL. Holding up the defense was sweeper Koren Takeyama, a freshman who played beyond her youth.

"It was obviously nerve-racking," said Takeyama, now at Hawai'i. "You're a freshman, you're the last defender before the goal. It was hard to deal at first.

"After my teammates had confidence in me and my coaches with their support, it made me realize where coach wanted me to play. It's where the players trusted me to be at, and I worked to do my best."

Baldwin finished the year 15-0 and outscored opponents 91-2.

COMMON BOND

Before coming together at Baldwin, many of the Bears played in club leagues. Those countless hours of practice and leaving the island to play helped put everything together by the time they reached high school.

"There was a core group of us who played together and against each other when we were younger," said Eaton, a graduate student and mental health care coordinator on Maui. "We were always competing, if not playing together, so that level of soccer, I would say to some degree, was a high standard for our age group."

Garbin said Maui didn't have a strong club scene like O'ahu, so "we really had to take it upon us to work all year round."

"We very well knew from playing different tournaments that 'Hey, we could play and we are pretty good.' "

The Bears defended their state title on Feb. 10, 2001, beating Mililani, 2-0, on goals by Garbin.

"We worked extremely hard going into that season and the state tournament," Takeyama said. "We felt more confident. We wanted to win and we wanted to prove to everyone who thought it was a fluke that we won the first title."

The Bears got the recognition, but the unheralded ones were the youth coaches who developed them. Even they played a big part in the back-to-back titles.

"What basically carried us through was really our youth coaches who really nurtured us ... They were the ones who were unseen and unrecognized," Eaton said. "They are truly the ones who gave up the time and built us up to where we were in high school."

And when they got to high school, they were state champions.

The Advertiser continues a summertime feature today, looking back at some of the more memorable events and teams that still hold a place in Hawai'i high school lore. If you have a suggestion, e-mail us at: preps@honoluluadvertiser.com