Two state championships attest to ‘Iolani soccer coach Chris Lee’s ability to teach the game.

That said, Lee wasn’t about to take credit for the decisive goal in the Raiders’ 1-0 home win over rival Punahou on Saturday.

A little more than 10 minutes into the second half, ‘Iolani midfielder Matt Alexander’s instincts and ingenuity created a scoring opportunity and Spencer Ho was there to tap his cross into the net. The Raiders finished off the shutout to improve to 3-0 in the ILH boys soccer standings.

After the match, Alexander said the sequence after he stole a pass deep on Punahou’s side of the field was a "bit of a blur." He certainly was during the play as he juked through a slender gap between defenders and sent the ball across the goal with Ho charging toward the opposite post to put it away.

"We wanted to try to win the ball a little higher upfield and that’s what we were able to do and then Matt utilized his individual creativity to create that goal," Lee said. "Obviously not something I taught him to do, but that’s something they work on and do on their own time.

"If it doesn’t happen maybe it’s a 0-0 game. It takes one of those special moments to happen in order for that goal to happen."

‘Iolani and Punahou last met in February, with the Raiders claiming the Division I state championship with a 2-0 win. They spent much of their first meeting this season on the Diamond Head end of Eddie Hamada Field.

Punahou controlled the action for most of the first half, but couldn’t get the ball past ‘Iolani goalkeeper Danny Leong. The Raiders came out of halftime with increased energy and Alexander’s hustle helped set up the lone goal of the match.

"Basically the word for us was ‘intensity,’ " Ho said. "We wanted to high-pressure them, force them to make bad plays, and it paid off for us.

"It was a great play by Matty. He played it across. I was just there for that insurance just to make sure it was in."

Ho is the lone returnee among the five Raiders who earned first-team All-State honors last season. With seven new starters, the Raiders got past Saint Louis and Pac-Five last week and passed an early-season test on Saturday.

"It’s definitely a different team from last year, but the guys are willing to learn, they’re willing to work hard and each game we’re getting better," Ho said. "Our chemistry’s getting better and I like where our team is going."

Alexander, a junior, is one of those new starters and showed off his ball-handling ability on the winning goal.

"You need role players, of course, but you also need those guys with that creative flair and it’s just getting them to understand where to utilize it and when to play more of a simple type of game," Lee said.

‘Iolani remained on the offensive, giving Punahou few opportunities at an equalizing goal. After opening with a win over Damien, the Buffanblu (1-2-1) have gone winless over their last three matches, with a scoreless tie against Mid-Pacific and losses to Kamehameha and ‘Iolani.

"We’re going to keep battling to the end," Punahou coach David Trifonovitch said. "We can’t keep doing what we’re doing because it’s not working, so we’re going to look at personnel changes as well as formational changes and see what we can do to scrap back into the season and see if we can get back into one of the (state tournament) spots."