Kapolei needed only to defend its net for a few more minutes to protect its place in the standings.

With a first-round bye in the OIA Red girls soccer playoffs in the balance, the Hurricanes got it done — barely.

Kapolei managed to fend off Pearl City’s late push to preserve a scoreless tie last night at the Chargers’ field and secure second place in the OIA Red West and the week off that comes with a top-two finish.

"Obviously we wanted to win tonight, but I told the girls getting that extra game (off), it’s always advantageous for us," Kapolei coach Brian Beck said. "Having a week off before OIAs is going to play into our hand; we have some injuries we want to get healed up."

In two meetings this season, neither Kapolei nor Pearl City could break through in 160 minutes of playing time. The scoreless streak nearly ended in the final minutes last night when Pearl City forward Kristen Maeno got her head on a ball in front of the goal off a corner kick from Kelsie Ng. But the ball sailed just over the crossbar and the teams settled for another tie.

"That’s the highest I’ve ever seen her jump," Pearl City coach Frank Baumholtz said. "That was a great effort. That would have been incredible if she’d have scored that. It was so close."

Kapolei closed the regular season by playing Mililani and Pearl City to draws to finish at 8-1-3 and place second in the division.

"The tie is not satisfying for us, but we got through," Kapolei senior goalie Kiana Kaiwi said. "We have to step up our game."

Pearl City (7-2-3) could have jumped over the Hurricanes into second place with a win, but will now face the sixth seed from the Red East in the playoffs. The Chargers’ first-round opponent will be determined when the East closes its season today.

"Being in third place, we just have to be mentally ready to win every game in the playoffs and play with that same intensity we had in the last 5 minutes," Baumholtz said. "We can’t wait for them to make a mistake; we have to make them make mistakes."

Coming off a battle with Mililani on Tuesday, Beck said the Hurricanes came out a bit flat. They had a scoring opportunity early in yesterday’s match, but Pearl City goalie Manaia Siana-Unutoa was able to punch a shot over the net.

The Hurricanes controlled the action early in the second half, spending most of the first 30 minutes on the Chargers’ side of the field.

But Pearl City turned up the pressure late to keep Kaiwi and the Hurricane defense on their toes.

"When there’s pressure I just try my best to calm them down," Kaiwi said. "What I tell them is don’t even worry about anyone else but your man. As long you get your man and focus on your position you’re doing your job."

The Chargers had a free kick drift wide of the goal and had two corner kicks in the final 5 minutes. The first was cleared out and Maeno nearly converted the second into a game-winner.

"That was pretty close," Kaiwi said. "That was good shot, but it was lucky it went over."