Kamehameha’s Shelby Aoki found the magic touch on her first shot of the game Saturday against Punahou.
Aoki scored from in close in the 66th minute off an assist from Olena Kuhau-Liftee as Kamehameha relied on a freshman-to-freshman connection to top host Punahou 1-0 in an ILH girls soccer match.
“Shelby is one of those players that can step on and make magic happen at any moment. Great finish,” Kamehameha coach Missy Moore said. “We’re trying to find our forwards. We just need to calm down in the final third (of the field).”
The result meant Punahou (8-1, 24 points) and Kamehameha (7-1, 21 points) will represent the ILH in the Motiv8 Foundation/HHSAA Girls Division I State Championships, which start Jan. 29.
‘Iolani (5-3-0; 15 points) was eliminated from state tournament contention.
However, the ILH title and first-round bye in the 12-team state tournament are still up for grabs.
The Warriors will visit the Raiders on Monday in the makeup of a Jan. 8 contest postponed due to inclement weather.
A Kamehameha victory would forge a tie with Punahou and the teams would meet again Wednesday in a playoff for the ILH title.
If the Warriors tie or lose to the Raiders on Monday, the Buffanblu would be the ILH champion.
On the opening day of the ILH season Dec. 5, Kamehameha beat visiting ‘Iolani 3-0.
“It’s going to be another battle,” Moore said. “ ‘Iolani has definitely improved. We just have to prepare ourselves mentally and physically again.”
On Saturday against Punahou, Aoki said she entered the game for the first time in about the 60th minute. A short time later, she received a pass off the head of Kuhau-Liftee and scored into the left side of the net.
“I saw Olena look up for the ball and I was just trying to read wherever she was going to flick it and it was a beautiful flick by her,” Aoki said. “I just tried my best to stay composed and finish it.”
Kuhau-Liftee said: “I checked back and I knew she was there because we’ve been practicing that. We already know where each other is. Our connection was amazing.”
The Warriors got a measure of revenge after a 4-0 loss to the Buffanblu on Jan. 12.
“Obviously we were pretty bummed about our loss against Punahou on our home field. We knew we had to redeem ourselves and we definitely did that,” Aoki said.
On Saturday, Punahou got the better of play in the first half in a matchup of the past two state tournament winners. The Warriors won in 2022 and the Buffanblu prevailed last season.
Punahou had a scoring opportunity in the second minute when Sachie Ilae controlled the ball down the left side near the end line and passed to Xehlia Salanoa, whose shot was saved by Kamehameha goalkeeper Maile Kahele.
In the 24th, the Buffanblu’s Maya Yoshimura stole the ball from a defender near the top of the penalty box and her shot was saved by Kahele, who dove to her left.
Four minutes later, Punahou’s Carly Cormack sent a shot from about 18 yards off the crossbar.
After Kamehameha scored, Punahou applied pressure but couldn’t break through.
“Sometimes that’s all it takes,” Punahou coach Shelley Izuno said of Aoki’s goal. “They hustled, they earned it. They needed a win and it showed.”
