Tenth ranked Kalani hands Kaiser first defeat of the season

Rayden Aoki | SL

Tenth ranked Kalani eked out a 1-0 win over Kaiser, improving to 6-1-3 on the year, while handing its league rival its first loss of the season in the process.

In the 22nd minute, Koa Close found Vincent Maseratti for what would ulimately be the game clinching score.

"I just saw Koa running, making a through ball and I decided to make a one-touch pass over the top. He (Close) got the ball, took on his player then crossed it to me for a one-touch finish," said Maseratti of the goal.

Kalani made it a point to get the ball early and often to Close, where he found space and opportunity on a number of occasions on long passes along the right sideline.

"We just kept pushing their back line, hoping they might make a mistake, so we could feed it and take a shot at goal," remarked Maseratti.

The Falcons long ball approach differed quite a bit from the Cougars, who pressed with long runs in the midfield, finding opportunities but not finishes.

Both goalies played well in net, and both sophomore Dylan Lee and senior Roen McGuire trading saves for much of the match.

The win to close out the regular season assured the Falcons no less than the third seed out of the East in the upcoming OIA Division I playoffs.

Kaiser can still clinch the top seed out of the East, but would need wins over both Kaimuki and current divison leader Kailua in order to do so.