These ‘Iolani girls are finally free to party like it’s 1999.

The Raiders won their first state championship in 13 years when they beat Punahou 3-1 in the Outrigger Hotels and Resorts/HHSAA Girls Soccer State Championship on Saturday night at Waipio Peninsula Soccer Stadium. Coach Kristin Masunaga and assistant Jamie Shoma were integral parts of that team so long ago.

"It was a long time ago, but you know what? Coach Jamie and I remember it like it was yesterday and we hope it will be the same for them," Masunaga said.

‘Iolani jumped on Punahou from the start, scoring after just 1 minute, 47 seconds when ILH leading scorer Kama Pascua received a pass in the corner of the box and drew immediate attention. With Punahou refusing to let her turn, Pascua threaded a pass along the top of the box to Jill Shimabuku, who drilled a one-timer at the near post. Punahou keeper Noelani Kong-Johnson got both hands on it, but the ball squirted out of her grasp and spun around the post and into the back of the goal. Kong-Johnson slapped the post in frustration while the Raiders gathered in celebration.

"I saw (Pascua) going down and I saw the open space in the middle and I was screaming my head off," Shimabuku said. "There were a lot of girls on her, I knew she had to release the ball and that was a really beautiful pass she gave me."

‘Iolani kept up the pressure throughout the first half, earning seven shots to Punahou’s two. ‘Iolani had chances 10 minutes apart but was stopped each time, and the Buffanblu finally woke from their slumber with just 20 seconds left in the half. Dempsey Banks got a run through the middle of the box that brought ‘Iolani keeper Courtney Overland out in a race to the ball. Overland barely won the contest for her only save of the first half, falling onto it like a fumble with Banks crashing into her. Banks stayed on the ground for a moment after the failed opportunity, but it was a matter of disappointment rather than a matter of injury. She would most certainly be back.

"They gave everything they had until the end," Punahou coach Starr Johnson said. "Obviously their bodies were exhausted, but they kept playing hard."

Toner pulled Punahou even in the 61st minute when the newly energized Buffanblu transitioned from midfield to the box in a split second on a crisp pass from Banks that no Raiders had a shot at. Toner did, though, and it was true.

"I guess we got a little discouraged," Alyssa Kim said. "But we got together and realized that this was it, we had to play with no regrets. I think the tie made us push even harder."

Shimabuku scored in the 65th minute off a direct free kick from Taylor Kipilii, a soaring bomb that landed in front of the goal and seemed to leave bodies lying around its impact. Punahou tried to clear it from the chaos, but Shimabuku found it lying on the ground and booted it in, and there was nothing a screened Kong-Johnson could do about it.

Kim added the insurance goal in the 72nd minute when a tired Punahou bunch gave ‘Iolani another direct free kick and Kipilii unleashed another long pass that Megan Goo corralled and Kim knocked in. ‘Iolani kept pushing despite the huge advantage, wanting to go into the final whistle knowing they played the entire 80 minutes.

"Oh my God, this is amazing," Pascua said. "We were a little bit down in the middle of the year, so we knew what could happen if we didn’t keep pushing."

The Raiders won three of four contests between the teams this year, taking the one at home early in the season and losing the one at Punahou. ‘Iolani beat Punahou in penalty kicks last week to win the ILH championship, but that didn’t hurt the Buffanblu as much as it could have. It was penalty kicks, and they knew that a bigger trophy would be at stake.

That game turned out to mean more than the Buffanblu could have imagined. While ‘Iolani got Wednesday off with the bye that came with its ILH title, Punahou ran through a tough Pearl City team. After ‘Iolani emptied its bench early in a 6-1 semifinal rout of Kaiser, Punahou stayed up late needing penalty kicks to top Mililani. Punahou made it through the game without an injury, something that bit ‘Iolani the last two years when the Raiders had to climb from being unseeded to the state title game. Ashley Park-Hunt was lost early in last year’s loss and the year before that keeper Lexi Felix and Amanda McCaskill went down.

"Having that bye was huge," Masunaga said. "Give Punahou credit, they played a hell of a game. Even 3-1 was not comfortable for us against them, they fought."