The Punahou girls soccer team doesn’t rebuild.
It only continues to build on an already strong legacy.
Maya Yoshimura scored two goals and Kelsey Yoshikawa also found the back of the net as Punahou beat Moanalua 3-0 in the semifinals of the Motiv8 Foundation/HHSAA Division I tournament Saturday at Waipio Peninsula Soccer Complex.
“I’m really proud of the effort. They really came out ready to play,” Punahou coach Shelley Izuno said. “We didn’t take them lightly. We knew it was going to be a tough game. The effort and execution was there.”
Punahou, the two-time defending state champion, lost eight starters from last year’s title team, but the level of play hasn’t seemed to have dropped.
Punahou will face the winner of Saturday’s late match between and Waipahu for the title Monday at WPSC’s main stadium.
“They work really hard and they may have felt like a rebuild at first, but we asked them to work extremely hard in practice and to train at a really high pace,” Izuno said. “They hold each other accountable. There’s a lot of uncomfortable things you go through growing as a team and they earned the right to play in the finals.”
The Buffanblu advanced to their fourth consecutive state tournament final. Punahou lost to Kamehameha in the 2022 title game, then beat the Warriors in the last two state finals. Punahou has won 13 state championships.
The Buffanblu finished with 13 shots on goal, while Na Menehune (12-4-0) had one. Moanalua finished tied for second in the OIA East and fifth in the OIA tournament.
Punahou went up 1-0 at 4:19 after Yoshimura booted in a left-footed shot from 10 yards after a heavy touch off the chest of a Na Menehune defender. Maliana Malaythong took a shot and Moanalua couldn’t clear the ball.
“We were told early in the game to crash the goal, so when I saw Mali take a shot I was just anticipating the ball was going to come back to me,” Yoshimura said. “I was in the right place at the right time.”
Punahou, the ILH runner-up, took a 2-0 advantage at 24:57 on Yoshikawa’s goal off Olivia Schiel’s assist. Schiel controlled the ball on the right side, cut back and slotted a pass to Yoshikawa, who placed a left-footed shot into the left side of the goal. “Oli gave me a super nice pass, so it was just about finishing the goal,” Yoshikawa said.
Punahou nearly scored in the 33rd when Yoshimura stole the ball and fired a shot that was blocked by Moanalua goalkeeper Marisa Lam. The rebound went to the Buffanblu’s Judd Eldredge Sagapolutele and she was knocked down just outside of the penalty box. Emily Sparks’ free kick was saved by Lam, who dived to her left.
The Buffanblu’s third goal, which came at 68:20, was the smoothest. Jazlyn Chang fought through a couple of Na Menehune defenders on the left side and passed to Kylie Tang. The freshman calmly dropped the ball back to Yoshimura, who shot to the right side of the goal.
“I was in an open space and I just called for the ball and it was placement over power for my shot,” Yoshimura said.
Punahou nearly broke through again in the 78th when Amelie Zeitz’s shot from distance on the left side hit the left post.
STATE GIRLS SOCCER
Games at Waipio Peninsula Soccer Complex
DIVISION I
Friday
Quarterfinals
>> No. 1 Kamehameha 2, Campbell 0
>> Moanalua 1, No. 2 Mililani 0 (4-2 PKs)
>> Punahou 5, No. 3 Kamehameha-Maui 1
>> Waipahu 3, No. 4 Waiakea 2
Saturday
Semifinals
>> No. 1 Kamehameha 4, Waipahu 1
>> Punahou 3, Moanalua 0
Monday
Championship
>> No. 1 Kamehameha vs. Punahou, 7 p.m.
DIVISION II
Friday
Quarterfinals
>> No. 1 Kamehameha-Hawaii 2, Pac-Five 0
>> No. 2 Kauai 9, Waialua 0
>> No. 3 Mid-Pacific 3, Hawaii Prep 0
>> Waimea 2, No. 4 Seabury Hall 0
Saturday
Semifinals
>> No. 1 Kamehameha-Hawaii 3, Waimea 0
>> No. 3 Mid-Pacific 1, No. 2 Kauai 0
Monday
Championship
>> No. 1 KS-Hawaii vs. No. 3 Mid-Pacific, 5 p.m.