Kamehameha girls get past Punahou for ILH soccer title

The Kamehameha girls soccer team relied on two of its younger players to find the back of the net Wednesday in the second critical showdown against Punahou in less than a week.

Warriors sophomore Sarah Naumu scored on a header and freshman Ionare Vee scored on a penalty kick in a 2-0 victory over the Buffanblu in a playoff for the ILH championship at Waipio Peninsula Soccer Complex.

Nikki Mau contributed to both second-half goals by placing a perfect corner kick to Naumu in the 46th minute and drawing a foul in the penalty box in the 60th, which set up Vee’s successful penalty kick.

The Warriors earned the ILH’s seeded berth and will receive a first-round bye at the Motiv8 Foundation Girls Division I Soccer Championships, which start Monday. The Buffanblu claimed the league’s other spot in the 12-team tournament.

“Anytime you can win an ILH title, it’s huge,” said Kamehameha coach Missy Moore. “It’s a hard league. We have to battle every game pretty much. To get that first seed, it’s great.”

The playoff was necessary because both teams finished the regular season 7-0-2 (23 points). They played to a 1-1 tie on Jan. 11, and another 1-1 draw Saturday in the final game of the ILH regular season.

On the first goal, Mau placed a corner kick from the right side to Naumu, who charged the ball and scored from just outside the goal line past Buffanblu goalkeeper Xeyana Salanoa.

“I just saw that there were a lot of people at the backdoor of the goal and I thought I’d just place it there because either way it’s going in either off a deflection or off of one of my players,” Mau said.

Naumu said she fought through traffic to reach the pass.

“I knew there was no one behind me, so I had to get it,” she said. “I just saw the ball come and I put my head into it and I got it.”

Moore said it was only the third goal Kamehameha has scored on a corner kick this season.

“We were having trouble with our corners, so I was pretty surprised we scored off a corner,” she said. “We’ve been practicing them, but they’ve been a little rough.”

The Warriors made it 2-0 on Vee’s penalty kick to the right side of the goal.

“I was just really nervous, but I was focused on keeping it low and where I want to go,” Vee said. “I normally go that way because it’s easier for me to keep control over it and make sure it goes where I want it to go.”

The penalty kick was awarded after Mau got behind the defense and was pulled down by the hair in the penalty box by a Punahou player, who was issued a red card.

“The perseverance of Nikki, to keep fighting through and get around the defense was huge,” Moore said. “I give Nikki credit to keep going forward no matter what was pulling her back.”

As far as letting a freshman take the PK, Moore said: “Nare, I have a lot of confidence in her for PKs. She came ready to play today, she’s proven herself in training, so we gave her a chance.”

Mau, who said she never looks when her team is taking a penalty kick, was near midfield staring in the opposite direction. The junior started celebrating when Kamehameha players and fans started to cheer.

Punahou did not go down quietly despite the deficit and being down a player.

The Buffanblu’s Ally Yoshimura nearly scored off passes from Jordyn Eldredge Sagapolutele in the 69th and 76th, only to be denied by Warriors goalkeeper Marley Roe.

“They definitely have the heart,” said Punahou coach Shelley Izuno. “That’s the only way you hold a scoreless game with 10 versus 11. They played on fumes, whatever was left in their tanks. Everything else was their heart.”

Kamehameha nearly added to the lead in the 79th when Saraya Burghardt dribbled down the left side and fired a shot off the post.

The Warriors have won the last three state titles with no tournament being held in 2021 because of COVID-19.

The Buffanblu last won a state crown in 2011, the final in a run of three consecutive championships.

In last year’s state final, Kamehameha beat Punahou 1-0 (3-1 PKs).

“There is nothing we want better than to be in the state final against Kamehameha,” Izuno said.