A quick start helped Moanalua avoid an early finish to the season.
Na Menehune forward Anessa Ridley scored the first of her two goals less than five minutes into Monday’s first-round match in the OIA Division I girls soccer tournament and Moanalua advanced with a 3-0 win over Waianae at Pearl City.
Midfielder Hoku Afong scored Moanalua’s second goal and assisted on the third as part of a senior class Na Menehune coach Nikki Dela Pena credited with honing the team’s focus entering the elimination match.
"I think our team was well prepared. They knew what was on the line today. They knew the situation," Dela Pena said.
"I think one thing that really gave us the advantage was the amount of seniors we have on the field.
"We are led by eight seniors. They’ve been through the whole tournament process and they definitely made sure the girls were ready."
Moanalua (8-2-1) advanced to face Aiea (7-1-2), the OIA West’s second seed, on Tuesday at 5:30 p.m. in the first match of a quarterfinal doubleheader at Kahuku.
After bursting to a 6-0 start in the OIA East, Moanalua slipped to third in the division with a 1-2-1 finish. In surviving the first round, Moanalua advanced to the quarterfinals and has two shots at earning one of the OIA’s six berths in the Division I state tournament.
"We put that behind us," Afong said of the shaky finish to the regular season. "We got into the playoffs, that’s fine with us. We just have to keep moving forward and prepare for the next day."
The winners of Tuesday’s four matches at Kahuku and Mililani secure state tournament berths. The remaining two spots will be determined in fifth-place bracket matches on Wednesday. The semifinals are scheduled for Thursday at Castle with the championship on Saturday.
"I told them basically you have 80 minutes to play and my question to them was ‘How far do you want to go?’ " Dela Pena said.
Na Menehune answered quickly with Ridley, a sophomore, breaking away for a one-on-one opportunity and angling her shot into the left side of the net.
Afong’s experience helped create the next two scoring opportunities. After Ridley’s goal Moanalua was called for being offside on several subsequent possessions. So Afong stutter-stepped a moment to make sure Na Menehune were onside before racing through a gap down the middle to gain possession and scoring on another breakaway.
Afong was first to the ball again off a free kick near midfield, challenged the defender then slipped a pass to Ridley, who punched in Moanalua’s third goal.
The cushion allowed Dela Pena to spread out the minutes and conserve some energy heading into Tuesday’s match against Aiea, which had a bye in the first round.
"Getting through the first round is definitely a big weight lifted off," Dela Pena said, "but these girls I leave it up to them. The leadership is something that can’t be coached. It’s definitely learned and imbedded in the girls who’ve been here."
Moanalua continued to pressure the Waianae (0-7-4) defense in the second half, but Seariders goalkeeper Kama Kaeo kept Na Menehune from extending the lead. The junior handled several shots from close range, including a leaping one-handed stab on a shot headed into the upper corner of the goal.
"She had some great saves. … She’s been doing that all season for us," Waianae coach Vince Ramo said.
Waianae was the sixth seed out of the OIA West a year after losing 14 seniors.
"It’s a rebuilding season, I’m glad we made it this far," Ramo said.
Pearl City 3, Roosevelt 1
Nikki Suwa scored in the first minute of the match, Randi Fontes added another goal in the fifth and the Chargers held off the Rough Riders to advance to the quarterfinals. Pearl City travels to Kahuku to face the Red Raiders, the OIA East top seed, on Tuesday.
Roosevelt closed the gap to 2-1 with a goal by Caitlin Tatemichi in the 30th minute. Pearl City’s Brittny Ihara scored in the 49th.
Campbell 1, Kailua 0
Alilani Lorenzo scored to lift the Sabers over the Surfriders. West No. 3 Campbell will face East No. 2 Kaiser at Mililani.
Kapolei 1, Castle 0, 2 OT
The Hurricanes outlasted the Knights in a marathon affair, which was scoreless after regulation and two overtime periods. Kapolei advanced via penalty kicks, 3-2, and will play at West No. 1 Mililani on Tuesday.
