Mid-Pac, HPA set up rematch

Alicia Johnson scored off a corner kick in the 74th minute to give Mid-Pacific a 2-1 win over Kauai and put the Owls within a win of their third straight Division II state title.

Mid-Pacific pushed Kauai throughout, but didn’t have it won until the whistle blew for the final time.

"It was harder than we wanted it to be, obviously," Mid-Pacific coach Dave Pai said. "But you have to give Kauai credit — they played hard and really wanted it."

The Owls scored the winner when Taylor Higa served a high bender on a corner kick that Kayla Watanabe soared to head in. Watanabe came up short, but the ball bounced once to Johnson’s feet. With Kauai keeper Kawailehua Hamberg committed to stopping Watanabe’s header, Johnson’s one-timer had an easy path to the goal.

"They just missed it and it just so happened to be right in front of my left foot," Johnson said. "It was just a lucky left foot in."

Mid-Pacific took the lead in the 61st minute when Watanabe turned the corner with ease and served a ball to Higa in the middle of the box. Higa knocked it in with a one-timer with a Kauai defender draped all over her.

Watanabe opened the second half writhing on the ground after taking an elbow to the ribs, but returned as aggressive as ever. She has been reined in during the regular season, playing in the back row for Mid-Pacific, but moved up front for the tournament. She plays forward for her club team.

Kauai scored five minutes after Mid-Pacific broke the ice when Alyssa Vegas got a run through all four of the Owls’ defenders and blasted a shot into the goal.

Hamberg made 10 saves off of Mid-Pacific’s 25 shots. The Red Raiders only got five shots on goal and made the keeper save each one of them.

"I think (the missed shots) got us up a little bit more because we felt like we could take them on," Watanabe said. "We were getting more shots than them, so we were building confidence."

Hawaii Prep 3, Kapaa 2

Hawaii Prep responded to giving up an early goal to beat Kapaa and advance to the Division II championship for the second straight year.

"It’s kind of funny, we have been down 0-1 a lot lately," Hawaii Prep coach Stephen Perry said. "The kids have a good resiliency, they came back and this was a quick one. I don’t think it bothers them right now, especially in the first half."

Ka Makani (11-1-2) move on to face Mid-Pacific, the same team that beat them 1-0 in last year’s state championship and knocked them out in the semifinal round the year before. Kapaa (7-2-2) plays Kauai for third place at 1 p.m. today.

Sophomore Gabbie Ewing served a high ball into the wind above the stadium that settled in front of the goal at Bri Vallente’s feet. Vallente controlled it and blasted it into the net before the keeper had a chance to make a move to make it 2-1.

"(Ewing) is such a presence in the midfield," Perry said. "She sees the whole field and just slotted a real nice pass. She knows where everyone is on the field."

Jah’nae Ayoso-Purdy added another goal for Hawaii Prep seven minutes later. Cassie Wilson brought Kapaa within a goal in the 74th minute when she converted a direct free kick.

Ka Makani controlled the action in the first half, but the Warriors made good on their first attempt of the game. Kekai Gonsalves punched in a rebound that Hawaii Prep keeper Morgan Monahan appeared to save, but the referee ruled that it got just over the line. Ka Makani responded immediately when Vallente punched a shot off one post that rolled the length of the goal mouth before nipping the other post and bouncing in.

"When we get a goal against us, it is something called resilience," Vallente said. "We like to keep our team up so we don’t fall back down and we come right back and try to get two more."