LIHU‘E — This wasn’t Vidinha Stadium or New Kapa‘a Town Park, but the setting didn’t matter as the Kaua‘i Red Raiders and Kapa‘a Lady Warriors squared off once again to determine third place in the JN Automotive HHSAA Division II
LIHU‘E — This wasn’t Vidinha Stadium or New Kapa‘a Town Park, but the setting didn’t matter as the Kaua‘i Red Raiders and Kapa‘a Lady Warriors squared off once again to determine third place in the JN Automotive HHSAA Division II Girls Soccer State Championships.
As it was in each meeting during the KIF regular season, Kapa‘a came out ahead in a back-and-forth battle, finishing with a 4-2 victory.
Kapa‘a’s Lily Fredericksen got her team on the board with the day’s first goal, coming in the 13th minute of play.
Isabelle “Jazzy” Curtis squared the match almost immediately, evening the contest at 1-1 in the 14th minute.
Curtis doubled her output when she again found the net in the 22nd minute, giving Kaua‘i a 2-1 lead.
That advantage would not stand for long, as Kyara Bunao knotted the match up once again in the 26th minute.
The half ended with the teams in the 2-2 deadlock, but Kapa‘a’s Laurie Anne Tamayo had a quick strike in the second half, scoring the game-winner in the 41st minute of play.
Forward Dakota Barnett added the punctuation mark with a goal in the 73rd minute to seal the deal.
The two teams each got one step away from the championship match, but lost close battles in Friday’s semifinal contests. Kaua‘i to top-seeded Kailua by a 1-0 count, Kapa‘a to defending-champion Pac-Five by a 2-0 final.
Kapa‘a ends the season with a 10-1 record, while Kaua‘i closes with a 6-5 mark.