Kiesling achieves goal of POY nod | News, Sports, Jobs
Baldwin High School’s Kekoa Kiesling settles a first-half ball in front of King Kekaulike’s Mateus Chauvin during a Maui Interscholastic League game on Jan. 25. Kiesling is the choice of the league’s coaches as MIL Player of the Year. The Maui News / MATTHEW THAYER photo
When told to call a reporter from The Maui News by his coach, Baldwin High School’s Kekoa Kiesling wondered why.
The news was a lifelong dream come true for Kiesling: He is the choice of the Maui Interscholastic League coaches as The Maui News MIL Boys Soccer Player of the Year.
“I mean, pure joy, that’s amazing,” Kiesling, a senior forward who scored seven goals and dished out eight assists this season, said Monday. “Yes, definitely I wanted to do this by my senior year and I thought I could with such a good season last year.”
The MIL has a proud history at the Motiv8 Foundation/HHSAA state tournament — especially recently with the Bears’ state crown in 2018 and King Kekaulike’s last year — so the Bears’ tie for fifth place at the 2023 event was a bit of a bummer, but it was a season Kiesling will never forget.
Kiesling plans to play in college, and Cal State Stanislaus is currently at the top of his wish list.
He still finds it hard to believe his Baldwin career is over.
“I still feel like I have another year,” Kiesling said. “It’s kind of crazy how fast time flew.”
The Bears lost just once in MIL play, 1-0 to Kamehameha Maui behind the only goal they surrendered in league play all season.
Half of the 12-player MIL first team wore the Baldwin maroon and blue: Kiesling is joined on the list by teammates Kanata Kuwahara (midfielder), Kaz Kinoshita (midfielder), Akila Iguchi (defender), Jonathan Acosta (defender) and Jadon Valdez (goalkeeper).
“It was super fun, I’ve been playing alongside Kaz ever since we started high school and it’s just been a battle with us two and it’s just been a fun learning process with him and it was just amazing with this whole team this year,” Kiesling said. “It was teamwork and everybody was family.”
Seabury Hall’s Duke Romanchak (forward) and James Haynes (utility); King Kekaulike’s Owen Riecke (midfielder) and Jake Solorio (defender); and Kamehameha Maui’s Masen Heu (midfielder) and Tidus Paet-Vegas (defender) round out the first team.
Kiesling was a seventh grader when the Bears claimed the first boys soccer title ever for an MIL team when they tied Hawaii Prep in the championship match shortened by lightning in 2018.
“I mean we take so much pride in that — we call it ‘osos’ and that’s heart,” Kiesling said. “That means Bears in Spanish. That’s just what we go by.”
Baldwin coach Kaniela Palazzotto is the choice of his peers as MIL Coach of the Year — he said Kiesling was a large part of the puzzle for the 2023 Bears, who finished 10-2-1.
“Kekoa is special, man,” Palazzotto said. “He’s just one of those guys that has this ability — he’s not the biggest kid, but he’s definitely hard-working. He can just find his way inside of the box and just has really good footwork, to get around people.
“Being small he has really good balance when people hit him — he doesn’t go down too easily. For some odd reason, he stays on his feet and then he finishes. Last year, if we won, I thought he could have been player of the year, too.”
Palazzotto pointed to the Bears’ game plan to split time with their goalkeepers — Valdez and Zion Ah You, who was the close choice for the second-team goalie spot — as an example of how well this team meshed.
“It was actually a really good kind of battle for us,” Palazzotto said. “We had a kid who decided not to play last year because of COVID and then this year he showed up and really pushed Jadon. At the beginning of the season, we asked our goalkeeper coach, ‘Hey, you know, so what should we do?’ He was all like, ‘This kid Zion is going to be pretty good for us.’ … Everyday competition and I think that brought the best out in Jadon.”
Palazzotto said the plan was to switch back and forth on who started and played the first half and who would play the second half of matches.
“They’re all like, ‘Oh, coach, you mind if we keep it the same, like Zion starts and then I close the show?'” Palazzotto said. “I was, like, ‘OK.’ And then we started thinking about baseball: ‘Hey, this guy starts and then this guy closes the show.’ That’s kind of just been the way it was.
“It was actually pretty fun. … Our team chemistry this year was really, really awesome.”
* Robert Collias is at rcollias@mauinews.com.
• Second Team
Travis Delos SantosBaldwinForwardSr.
Lorenzo GonzalezKing KekaulikeForwardFr.
Jenson NakasoneKamehameha MauiMidfielderSr.
Jordan CarbonellBaldwinMidfielderSr.
Jai SternthalKing KekaulikeMidfielderSr.
Caleb Yap-TexeiraKamehameha MauiMidfielderJr.
Brayden BarbosaBaldwinDefenderJr.
Maikalani WarnerBaldwinDefenderSo.
Jaiden BarbosaMaui HighDefenderSr.
Kayden YapKamehameha MauiDefenderFr.
Zion Ah YouBaldwinGoalkeeperSr.
Sevy SconfienzaMaui HighUtilitySr.
James “Bear” JarmanKing KekaulikeUtilitySr.
• Honorable Mention
Baldwin–Jaime Subaru Thompson, Brayden Briones; Kamehameha Maui–Kairos Joaquin, Makaha Pang, Niuhi Lani Howard, Trenton Kiesel, Eddie Hudcovic; King Kekaulike–Bubba Emmanuel, Rex Riecke, Nainoa Pascual; Lahainaluna–Guinness Rockett, Joe Arcangel; Maui High–Micah Sijalbo; Seabury Hall–Cannon Vines, Esken Guarin, Kalani Romanchak, Trey Cerizo.
Baldwin High School’s Kekoa Kiesling settles a first-half ball in front of King Kekaulike’s Mateus Chauvin during a Maui Interscholastic League game on Jan. 25. Kiesling is the choice of the league’s coaches as MIL Player of the Year. The Maui News / MATTHEW THAYER photoToday's breaking news and more in your inbox
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