Punahou steps up in ILH with win over Kamehameha

Punahou doesn’t stay down for long.

Dempsey Banks scored in the 74th minute and the Punahou girls soccer team beat Kamehameha 1-0 on Saturday at Punahou.

The Buffanblu, who ruled the ILH in 2010 and 2011, were swept by Kamehameha in last year’s home-and-home and missed the state tournament for the first time since 2007. The Buffanblu will put up a much better fight this year.

"(Banks) made the individual effort to put her team on her shoulders and realize that someone has to put it in," Punahou coach Starr Johnson said. "We could not come away with a tie today. We had to perform and we had to execute, there really wasn’t any other option."

Banks had a similar run for her first shot of the game just 30 seconds earlier, but had her roller from the top of the box saved by Kamehameha keeper Sisilia Meli.

Banks didn’t let her second clean shot of the match go to waste, though. She got a ball over Kamehameha defender Summer Burnett’s head and dribbled to the same spot where she had missed earlier.

"We had a lot of chances throughout the game and I knew it was coming," Banks said. "Just because of the energy, I could feel it. It was a really nice ball played to me and I knew it was my second chance, so I had to put it in."

This time she put more into the attempt, blasting the ball toward the right side of the goal, but Meli saved it with both hands. The shot was so hard that it rebounded back to Banks, who quickly put it on the ground and into the goal before Meli could right herself.

"It was a great personal individual effort by Dempsey," Kamehameha coach Melissa Moore said. "Our keeper made a great save. It is just too bad we didn’t get back and mark up that deflection. (Banks) is a great player, just fantastic."

Kamehameha, the defending ILH and state champion, sleepwalked through much of the match until Punahou scored, and spent the next three minutes teeing off on the Punahou goal but got rebuffed every time. The Warriors had been a victim of a last-second goal in a tie against ‘Iolani last week, but they weren’t going to get the same magic. Kamehameha’s defense was stellar in defeat and has given up only two goals this season.

"We did a good job at certain things," Moore said. "The effort was there at times. It just has to be there the entire game and that is something we are going to work toward. It’s got to be 80 minutes of hard work, and we just have to do a better job."

Kamehameha didn’t earn its first corner kick until the 68th minute and was outhustled by Punahou until its back was against the wall.

The Warriors played without midfielder Emma Young, who was given a red card in their previous game, and Kiani Halushka, who was on a trip. Punahou was at full strength except for Kelli Santos, who was out with a broken toe.

The Buffanblu (5-1) moved up to second place at the end of first half of the ILH season, just behind ‘Iolani (5-0-1). The league gets only two representatives into the state tournament, and right now the defending state champs are on the outside looking in with a 4-1-1 record.

The Buffanblu start the second half of the season at Sacred Hearts on Thursday, and the Warriors visit the Lancers on Saturday. Punahou will travel to Kamehameha for the last game of the regular season on Jan. 22. There is no ILH tournament.