Kristen Hori was in the right place at the right time twice and she didn’t disappoint her teammates by putting away two goals in ‘Iolani’s 2-1 comeback victory over Campbell on Friday night.
The Raiders kept their undefeated season intact with the win over the OIA champion Sabers in the Division I semifinals of the Outrigger Resorts/HHSAA Girls Soccer State Championships at the Waipio Peninsula Soccer Stadium.
Up next is the big one, the title game Saturday night against Mililani. The unseeded Raiders (12-0-3), who placed second to Punahou in the ILH standings, are trying to regain the state crown they won in 2013.
"I’m hoping tomorrow is our best game of the season," ‘Iolani coach Kristin Masunaga said. "I thought we played well. We possessed the ball well. We had a couple of defensive breakdowns and we had a lot of chances but just couldn’t seem to put it in (early). We told the girls to keep pressing and the goals would eventually come."
Campbell, which climbed back from a two-goal deficit to beat Pearl City in the quarterfinals, grabbed a 1-0 lead in this one.
A hard foul by the Raiders just outside the box led to Aryana Cabudol’s 23-yard direct kick. She sent a low shot to the left that ‘Iolani goalkeeper Courtney Overland dove for and got her extended arms on. But the ball trickled past the goal line for a 1-0 Sabers lead.
After that, ‘Iolani’s patented passing attack came into play, leading to a big edge in time of possession, and it frustrated Campbell’s ability to penetrate.
In the 25th minute, Hori took a cross from Kylee-Kim Bustillos and struck with a hard shot into the top left corner for a 1-all tie. Sam Masca started the scoring play with a pass to Bustillos.
After the break, in the 56th minute, Hori did it again. This time, Kari Adams — a defensive stalwart all match — delivered a long ball to Masca, who made a cross to Lauryn Oishi in front. Oishi’s blast was blocked by Cabudol at fullback, but it went to Hori on the left side and she didn’t hesitate to knock it home for the eventual game-winner.
"I feel lucky to have gotten those shots," Hori said. "But I had to remind myself to stay composed and put it on frame."
About the upcoming final, Hori said, "We will need to remind ourselves to play our game and keep the pressure on. We all want this really badly."
Campbell made a late surge, led by Aliani Lorenzo and Chardonnay Curran, and Adams came up with several big plays on ‘Iolani’s back row. In addition, Overland dove to keep the ball away from Lorenzo, who was the recipient of a through ball into the box.
"We were confident in our defense," Masunaga said. "We’ve watched Campbell. They’ve been down and have come back before. We knew we had to stay strong and not relax until the final whistle."
Campbell (12-3-1), the tournament’s second seed, was without standout defender Ashlynn Chargualaf for much of the match. She suffered a concussion in the first half, according to coach Ryan Leong, who said her absence caused him to shuffle the lineup to compensate and it — along with ‘Iolani’s stout defense — took Campbell out of its comfort zone.
"I’m not sad at all," Leong said. "We came this far and fought hard and they gave it their all. ‘Iolani is such a good soccer school. Their ball possession and passing were awesome."
The Sabers play in the third-place match Saturday.
"Everyone doubted us and we proved them wrong by making it so far," said Curran, who along with Lorenzo will be back next season. "We’ll come back stronger."
Mililani 2, Konawaena 1
Kayla Braunthal scored in the 74th minute to lift the Trojans past the gritty Wildcats and into Saturday’s D-I final against ‘Iolani.
Braunthal outraced two defenders on a through ball from Kasey Isobe and dribbled in on goalkeeper Taiana Tolleson with a Konawaena defender draped on her back. Braunthal left-footed one into the right low corner for the victory.
"I saw the goalkeeper coming out," Braunthal said. "The ball was perfectly paced and the angle was just right and I put it past her."
Kaulana Ruedy gave the BIIF champion and fourth-seeded Wildcats (11-3-0) a
1-0 lead in the eighth minute. The unseeded Trojans (14-1-1) fought back to tie at 1 in the 17th minute with Tia Furuta’s goal on a pass from Kailana Kaeo.
Tolleson made nine saves against the potent Mililani attack.
DIVISION II
Hawaii Prep 2, Pac-Five 1
Top-seeded Ka Makani (13-1) rallied with two second-half goals by Jordan Zarate and Gabbie Ewing, in the 42nd and 46th minutes, to deny the Wolfpack (5-8-2) and advance to the Division II final on Saturday against second-seeded Mid-Pacific.
Jamie Saito gave Pac-Five (5-8-2) an early 1-0 lead with a goal in the fifth minute.
Mid-Pacific 2, Kapaa 1, PKs
The Owls and Warriors were tied 1-1 through regulation and two overtimes, and then MPI advanced to the D-II final with a 4-3 win on penalty kicks.
Kayla Watanabe’s goal in the 25th minute gave the second-seeded Owls (6-5-2) a 1-0 lead.
Jamie Kosaki tied it in the 77th minute to get KIF champion and third-seeded Kapaa (10-2-3) into OT.
CONSOLATION
Kauai 3, Waialua 0
KS-Hawaii 7, Kalani 0
Goal scorers–Kau: Caitlin Cantorna 2, Caley Caires. KSH: Kekai Wong Yuen 3, Hiwa Brown, Bryana-Marie Ebbers, Layn Taylor Glenn, Shayla Iwata.
