Mia Hironaka’s goal lifts Pac-Five to state Division II championship

DARRYL OUMI / SPECIAL TO THE HONOLULU STAR-ADVERTISER
Mia Hironaka and teammate Rissa Hara, right, celebrated after the Wolf Pack scored the only goal of the match.

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DARRYL OUMI / SPECIAL TO THE HONOLULU STAR-ADVERTISER

Mia Hironaka and teammate Rissa Hara, right, celebrated after the Wolf Pack scored the only goal of the match.

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DARRYL OUMI / SPECIAL TO THE HONOLULU STAR-ADVERTISER

Pac-Five’s Danny Query-Hagedorn dribbled upfield ahead of Kapaa’s Julia Durocher on Saturday.

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Pac-Five shuts out Kapaa for Division II soccer title

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Pac-Five girls soccer players can hold up five fingers to signify the number of state titles the school has won.

The Wolfpack can also say they made absent co-coaches Shannon Leong and Ryan Leong proud.

Mia Hironaka scored on a free kick late in the first half as Pac-Five defeated No. 2 seed Kapaa 1-0 in the Division II final of the Motiv8 Foundation/HHSAA Girls Soccer Championships on Saturday at Waipahu.

“I came into this season as an assistant coach, but unfortunately coach Shannon and coach Ryan couldn’t get here,” assistant coach Aliani Lorenzo said. “We played for them and we won states.” Lorenzo added she took over as the lead coach after the second week of the season after Shannon Leong had health issues. Ryan Leong is his son.

After a Pac-Five player was fouled 25 yards out on the left side, Hironaka stepped up and nailed a high, bending ball that went over Warriors goalkeeper Kailee Gorospe and into the top right of the goal at 38:19.

“I wanted to put it in a good spot where either a teammate could get a rebound or it could put us in a great spot, like it did,” said Hironaka, who attends Maryknoll.

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Pac-Five won the inaugural D-II state title in 2007 and followed up with crowns in 2009, 2010 and last year.

“It’s really amazing, a lot of schools coming together for one goal and being able to bond in a short period of time,” Hironaka said. “It’s really different.”

The Wolfpack (7-4-1) outscored their four state tournament opponents 19-0.

Lorenzo credited freshman defenders Kamalani Marlier and Kana Smith for anchoring the defense.

“Nobody can pass them. As you saw it today, they were all over the place,” Lorenzo said.

Pac-Five, the ILH runner-up, was without leading scorer Solala Nasu and Lily Leano at the time of the goal because of injury. Leano re-entered to start the second half, while Nasu did not return.

Neither team had a serious scoring threat prior to Hironaka’s goal.

Kapaa, the KIF champion, got the better of play in the second half, but couldn’t break through against a well-compacted Pac-Five defense.

“Sometimes that happens. Definitely we had them on their heels and created a lot of havoc there,” said Kapaa coach Andrea Alfiler. “We were in there a lot, but just couldn’t find the back of the net.”

The Warriors (10-2-3) have never won a state championship but are three-time runners-up (2009, 2017, 2023).