Kamehameha’s command over Punahou on the soccer field Monday had perhaps an unintended consequence — it kept ‘Iolani’s season alive.
The Warriors (12-1-1) controlled all facets of the match for a 2-0 win on their home field Monday to clinch the Interscholastic League of Honolulu second round and overall championship as well as the league’s seeded berth into the upcoming state tournament.
Despite the loss, the Buffanblu (8-3-2) still have a chance to qualify for states, but to do so, they must defeat those fortunate Raiders (9-3-1) on Wednesday. Had Punahou gotten past Kamehameha on Monday, ‘Iolani’s season would have been done. So now, despite a two-game losing streak, the Raiders still have a shot at getting into states and defending their Division I state championship.
“We wanted to put it away and be done and start focusing on states, so to win was huge for us,” Warriors coach Melissa Moore said. “It’s the best game we’ve played here all season. We’ve struggled a bit at home. Today, to finish it out playing here, I couldn’t ask for anything more as a coach. Punahou’s a good team. We caught them a bit off guard.”
Monday’s match was 0-0 at halftime, but early in the second half, D’awncey Jones made it 1-0 by booting a shot just inside the right post to finish a give-and-go with Kylie Minamishin.
“I was happy she (Jones) was on the back end of it and put it away,” Minamishin said.
Jones had a hand in Kamehameha’s second goal midway through the second half. After trapping a through ball just before it could make it over the end line in the left corner, she calmly repositioned and dribbled a few feet toward the goal before sending a waist high pass in front, where Sharon Cain was stationed. Cain got a piece of the ball in midair and, on a second touch, pushed it into the goal.
With a 2-0 deficit, Punahou’s chances for a comeback were severely limited, especially since the Buffanblu appeared to be a step behind all match.
“It comes down to who wants it more, and it was obvious they wanted it more,” first-year Buffanblu coach Shelley Izuno said about the Warriors. “They played that way and the score reflected that. I don’t know if’s nutrition, sleep or what, but our girls can play really well and they know they can play really well. It’s just whether they show up or not.”
Late in the contest, Punahou nearly took advantage of defensive breakdowns by the Warriors that led to two near-breakaways down the right wing. First, Punahou’s Paris Sellers got off a clean shot that went straight at goalkeeper Chaylea Tome. Second, freshman Allison Little sent a screamer that looked like it was headed for the far corner of the goal, but Tome (who played the whole second half and shared the shutout with Kendal Stovall) got a high hand on it to knock it away.
“I was thinking after the shot that everybody seemed more upbeat and I thought we could keep up the intensity,” Little said. “We definitely could have played better, but you can’t change the past. We look forward to playing ‘Iolani.”
The Warriors’ only loss this season came in a 1-0 encounter against ‘Iolani on Dec. 2. Those Raiders, however, will be trying to do something Wednesday that they haven’t done so far this season — beat Punahou. The Buffanblu beat ‘Iolani 2-0 in an ILH second-round playoff game Thursday and the two teams tied 0-0 on Nov. 29.
