An improbable run ended with the first OIA girls varsity soccer championship of any kind at Radford.
Kourtnie Jury-Hale and Jessie Ines scored goals and the Rams held off a ferocious late charge by Nanakuli for a 2-1 victory in the OIA White championship game on Friday night at Kaiser Stadium.
The Rams (4-8-1) had won just one game in the regular season and entered the OIA White playoffs as the third seed out of the West.
After knocking off McKinley and upsetting West top seed Leilehua in a shootout, the Rams edged a Nanakuli team that had beaten Radford 7-2 in its only regular-season meeting.
"They played well, they came together, they helped each other and they worked really hard," Radford coach Sam Tateyama said.
Feeding off the momentum of their previous two wins, the Rams were the better team in the first half, controlling the ball in Nanakuli territory for the majority of the opening 40 minutes.
Jury-Hale gave Radford a 1-0 lead in the 27th minute, drilling a header into the net off a perfect corner kick by Abigail Granger.
The Rams had five shots on goal to just one for the Golden Hawks (5-7-1).
"First half they dominated us," Nanakuli coach Rich Wentling said. "(Radford) was better fit to play today than we were."
Ines scored the crucial second goal in the 60th minute, using the wind at her back to launch a ball high in the air that fell just over Nanakuli goalkeeper Kama Kaeo.
"I looked at the goal once, put my head down and I kicked the ball," Ines said. "I would call it luck, but hopefully I have some skill."
From then on, Nanakuli turned up the pressure, moving its sweeper into the forward area to help challenge Radford goalkeeper Paige Moore.
Freshman Chevyn-Rae Morgan cut the deficit in half with a goal in the 73rd minute, getting free down the left side of the field before perfectly placing a shot into the lower right corner of the goal to make it 2-1.
Moore finished with five saves and preserved the win despite playing soccer for the first time in her life this season.
"I play softball at Radford and I wanted to pass the time until softball season, so I picked soccer," Moore. "I thought being goalie would be like catching a ball in softball at first.
"It was pretty scary (at the end)."
For Ines, the victory is extra special. She is one of 10 seniors on the team that can say they were the first graduating class to win an OIA soccer title at Radford.
"It feels amazing because I’ve been on varsity since I was a freshman and it’s an overwhelming feeling to be an OIA champion," she said.
