Hawaii to Portland to Bremerton. This is the road travelled thus far in Michael Chamberlain’s soccer career.

After growing up on the island of Kauai, Chamberlain went to college at Concordia University in Portland, Oregon before moving to Bremerton where he plays for the Kitsap Pumas.

“Soccer is always what I’ve wanted to do,” he said. “I was always drawn to the sport and still find myself dribbling rocks or juggling [a ball] in my spare time.”

In his youth career, Chamberlain travelled from Kauai to Oahu to play in the highest level of competition on the island. He was also chosen for the Olympic Development Program, a program selecting the best players in the state, and would travel around the region to play.

That skill level and experience led to him being recruited by one of the highest ranked NAIA programs in the country, Concordia University.

“Growing up in a small area and going to small private school, I knew I wanted to find a college that was similar. Somewhere where I knew I would get the attention I needed from teachers, and the opportunities I wanted on the field,” he said.

While at Concordia, Chamberlain scored 33 career goals, recorded 19 assists and was named to the first team all conference as a senior. This led to him being signed by the Pumas, a professional soccer organization in Bremerton that plays in the Premier Development League.

The team earned their second consecutive Northwest Division championship and are heading to playoffs, six games out from a national title.

“That’s what we are all working toward, a championship,” he said.

Chamberlain played with the Pumas last year as well, helping them reach the national final where they fell to the Michigan Bucks 1-0.

After clinching the division title for the second year in a row, Chamberlain and the rest of his team are ready for redemption.

“I honestly believe that we can win it all this year,” Chamberlain said. “With this team, our chemistry and combined skill, I’d be surprised if we didn’t make a solid run for the title.”

The team’s chemistry on and off the field can be summarized in two words: ridiculously close. Chamberlain lives with four other teammates. You can often find them and the rest of the Pumas in their garage, challenging each other to games of one-handed pool on a pool table that they built themselves.

One pool-table-building roommate is Trevor Jensen. After playing at Willamette University in Salem, Oregon, Jensen tried out for the Pumas and made the 2014 team roster where he instantly bonded with the blond-headed Hawaiian Mikey Chamberlain.

“He gets distracted more than anyone I know, and can still play soccer well,” Jensen said. “He’s a guy who likes to have fun but then can turn it around and be a leader on the field.”

Other than playing soccer, Chamberlain’s interests include card games, playing XBOX and spending hours trying to make a ping-pong ball in to a stein set up on the windowsill of the garage. He is the only one of his friends that hasn’t made it.

“I’ve spent hours trying, and I can’t figure it out,” he said. “Sometimes I’ll go 15 minutes, then take a break, then try again. Nope, doesn’t work. It’ll drive you crazy.”

Chamberlain says that everyone hanging out at their house, playing these games, is a way for them to stay loose and form a strong bond that will transfer over to soccer.

“We all just like to hang out together and have a good time,” Chamberlain said. “The guys on this team are all really great guys. We clicked from day one, and that’s important on the field.”

Veteran fans and newcomers alike can see that when they watch the Pumas at Gordon Field, and can feel a part of  the team’s cohesiveness.

Two die-hard fans in particular make it to every home match and even travel to away games, supporting their team and rooting for each individual player as he enters the field. They bring cow bells, plastic megaphones and drums to elevate their cheers. One has the Pumas logo tattooed on his calf, and the other has a blanket sewn together from all of the Puma scarves she has collected over the years. Eight scarves to be exact.

“Playing at home is fun, especially this year when we won the conference here,” Chamberlain said. “When fans yell or little kids come up to me after the game wanting my autograph, I feel like I’m doing something good, something right.”

Chamberlain has scored five goals so far this year for the Pumas, including a hat trick in the home opener against the Calgary Foothills, and a game winner in the 92nd minute against the Puget Sound Gunners.

With the regular season coming to a close on July 15 with a 1-0 win over the Sounders FC U23, Chamberlain and the rest of the Pumas turn their focus toward the playoffs.

The stands were packed as more than 900 fans watched the Pumas finish off the 2015 season undefeated.

“We’re excited and ready to give it our all,” said Chamberlain. “I really think we can go far, and if we don’t I’ll be devastated. But I love hanging out with these dudes and making memories. Allez Pumas.”