LIHU‘E — More than 100 minutes of physical, back-and-forth play culminated in a shootout for the state championship in the JN Automotive/HHSAA Division II Girls Soccer tournament. Despite a gritty effort and great execution, the Kaua‘i High School Red Raiders
LIHU‘E — More than 100 minutes of physical, back-and-forth play culminated in a shootout for the state championship in the JN Automotive/HHSAA Division II Girls Soccer tournament.
Despite a gritty effort and great execution, the Kaua‘i High School Red Raiders were outgunned by Mid-Pacific Institute, 3-2 (4-2 in penalty kicks), Saturday at the Waipio Soccer Complex Main Stadium on O‘ahu.
Holding a 3-2 lead in the shootout after four shots apiece, Mid-Pac’s Julie Khil had the clincher as her attempt towards the bottom right corner of the net slid beneath the outstretched arm of goalie Kawehi Louis-Diamond, sending the Mid-Pac squad into celebratory mode, while the Raiders showed the emotion of coming up just short of their first state title.
It was appearing as though the situation would be reversed when Kaua‘i imposed its will in the first half and jumped out to a 2-0 lead.
In the 15th minute of play, Malia Kagawa took a right-footed corner kick that was headed down in the box by Cascade Mayer. Noe Tamashiro gathered the ball and soundly finished it into the back of the net for the 1-0 lead.
That score appeared to be justice for a non-call just prior to the corner kick. Mayer was taken down from behind inside the box, but drew no whistle on the play, resulting in the Kagawa corner.
The Raiders expanded their lead in the 30th minute, after another Kagawa corner kick. This one was knocked back towards her and she lifted a chip into the box that was on a path towards the top of the goal.
Mid-Pac keeper Arian Aragaki backpedaled and got both hands on the ball, but not enough to deflect it very far. Tamashiro was again opportunistic and charged in to finish the play with a header for her second goal of the day and a 2-0 advantage.
That score gave Tamashiro four goals in the tournament, which ended up tied for tops in the D-II bracket.
The opening 40 minutes could not have gone better for Kaua‘i, which had Mid-Pac befuddled with its offsides trap on defense. The Raider back line continuously got its opponents caught too far upfield and in no position to make legal runs at the goal.
Mid-Pac was called offsides seven times in the first half, compared to just one for Kaua‘i.
The Raider Wahine were getting the better of their offensive exchanges and were granted nine corner kicks in the first half, converting on two and seeing other attempts come up just short as Kagawa continued to serve up dangerous crosses around the goal.
The second half was a much different story as Mid-Pac seemed intent on fighting until the final whistle. It earned three consecutive corner kicks early in the half, but could not score.
Louis-Diamond made spectacular plays in the early going of the second half, as she had in the first. Her range on long passes allowed Kaua‘i to play its offsides trap with confidence, as she was able to come out and make plays on balls 30 yards away from the net.
It seemed it would not be Mid-Pac’s night when Khil had a great chance go off the left post. She had gathered the loose ball near midfield and charged the net, bringing Louis-Diamond out to contest. Her shot got by the keeper, but was inches away from Mid-Pac’s first score.
Not long after, though, it did get on the board as Taylor Higa scored from the top of the box in the 62nd minute. She got by the gambling trap defense on a through ball and made Kaua‘i pay, cutting the deficit in half to 2-1.
That goal injected life into the Mid-Pac players, now sensing that the tide could be turning.
It wouldn’t take much more time for the game to be evened up, as Higa again got loose on the right side of the offsides trap, leading to a three-on-one opportunity. She decided to keep it herself and punched it into the right side of the goal in the 70th minute of action.
All of a sudden, the Kaua‘i tactics were coming up short and Mid-Pac had gained the momentum.
Louis-Diamond made a great play to keep her team even in the 74th minute, getting her hands on a save up high and then chasing down the rebound to disallow any further attempts.
The second-half whistle blew with the score still tied and the two sides went into the first overtime period of “golden goal” action — the first score ending the match.
Higa saw two more chances in that 10-minute session, with Louis-Diamond making big plays on both to keep things level. Defender Tyra Tandal also had a key stop, breaking up a two-on-one inside the box.
With no scoring, the second overtime saw Kaua‘i with the best shot to end the evening. Kagawa put another corner right where she wanted it as it got over the front wave of players. Kaua‘i’s Jazzy Curtis made a run and got her foot on the ball as it hit the ground. Her shot from just a few yards away went right to where Aragaki had lined up and the goalie made the deflection as the Mid-Pac players finished off the clearance.
The final gasp was on a shot from Alyssa “Malu” Vegas, who was celebrating her 16th birthday, as she ripped a deep shot in the closing moments that Aragaki appeared to think would be headed well wide. The ball stayed on target, but bounded off the far post, sending the title contest into a shootout.
Kagawa and Lisa Tangalin each scored on their penalty kicks, while Higa, Marie Moriwake and Lindsey Okubo all converted for Mid-Pac, setting up the game-winner for Khil.
Mid-Pac offered a change-up in the shootout, using goalie Kiana Yasui after Aragaki had been in net the whole night.
With her two goals, Higa was named Mid-Pac’s Player of the Game by OC16, which covered the championship match.
For her efforts, Louis-Diamond was given the same honor for the Raiders.
Defender Teal Basquez gutted out an ankle injury and played the whole game. She suffered the injury late in Friday’s 1-0 semifinal win over Kamehameha-Big Island and had been considered doubtful for the final. But she played a vital role, marking Mid-Pac strikers who continued to attack.
This is Mid-Pac’s first D-II state championship, having lost to Pac-Five in its only previous appearance in the finals.
Consolation
In the consolation bracket, Hawai‘i Prep finishes with third place in Div. II after a 2-0 win over Kamehameha-Big Island.
Nanea Tavares (37’) and Emily Evans (53’) each scored for HPA.
Honoka‘a and Seabury Hall played to a 1-1 draw in the fifth-place game. Elle Carvalho (40’) put Seabury Hall up 1-0, but Allie Shiraki (52’) responded in the second half.
Kalaheo got goals from Jordyn Rey, Sara McAllaster and Rachel Peck to take a 3-0 win over Radford in the consolation final.
Division I
Kahuku took third place in Div. I with a 2-1 win over Mililani. Fonoimoana Mataafa scored in just the second minute for Kahuku, but T.J. Reyno (23’) evened things up before the half. Renee Oei (60’) had the game-winner for Kahuku.
Baldwin and Kamehameha-Maui played to a 0-0 draw in the fifth-place match.
Moanalua was a 3-2 winner over Kapolei in the consolation final.
A result from the Div. I state championship match between ‘Iolani and Punahou was unavailable as of press time.
