Kaiser made the extra pass to reach an extra round.
The Cougars picked up the first Oahu Interscholastic Association water polo title in school history on April 20, and followed that up by earning their first semifinal berth in the Stanford Carr Development, LLC/HHSAA state championships with a 9-3 defeat of Hawaii Prep Academy at Kamehameha on Thursday.
Kaiser’s senior-heavy, swimming-ready squad showed improved cohesion from its unbeaten run through the OIA, when it could usually coast through with its superior speed.
“I think today, we were definitely trying to focus a lot more on strategy, because we usually play off chaos,” said senior Erin Patterson, who scored a hat trick. “It’s kind of how we thrive, because we can swim around and confuse people. But we were trying really hard to look for that one extra pass and to see the open man. So I think we did pretty good on that today, but I think we can improve on (it) tomorrow.”
The Cougars face host Kamehameha at 5:45 p.m. today. Eleven-time defending state champion Punahou follows against Kamehameha-Hawaii at 7.
“They’re fast, they’re smart, and they’re strong,” said Kaiser coach Asa Tanaka of the Warriors, who are going for a fifth straight finals appearance. “They got some girls on there, they got some guns. Hopefully we can nullify them with our speed. If not, keep learning.”
That speed — it carried Kaiser to the OIA swimming and diving title — was on display often Thursday. Patterson and fellow senior Megan Kaneshiro broke away on counterattacks twice in the second quarter, with Patterson forcing the defense to commit and finding her teammate for a wide-open shot. Kaneshiro converted both and the lead was 6-2 at halftime.
“We’ve been working on that. Not to be selfish, but for the better person to make the shot,” Tanaka said. “You want to make the goalie move from one end to the other. They put it into play tonight.”
Said Patterson, “We’ve been specifically practicing that one where two of us are right in front of the goalie.”
Raina Chung, Taylor Kuroiwa, Mina Hanada and Sarah Lorenzo had Kaiser’s other scores.
Hawaii Prep, the BIIF runner-up, defeated Moanalua 5-4 in a first-round game on the Big Island on Monday to earn the trip to Oahu. But Kaiser proved to be an advanced foe.
“They were doing a great job of getting the ball in deep, and kind of moving it down the line,” Ka Makani coach Greg McKenna said. “We’ve been working on that, to know when to challenge and when to cover the middle. And to communicate that help. I thought we did great. I think our goalie (Ala Taylor) stopped four or five 1-on-0 shots at the end of those counterattacks.
“It’s only 9-3 because our defense played the way that it did. We were expecting them to be fast and to challenge us like that, so I’m proud of our girls to put on the defensive shows and stops that they were able to make.”
Jenna Perry led Ka Makani with two goals on three shots, while Morgan Davis had the other score.
No. 1 Punahou 15, Roosevelt 5
The 11-time defending champion Buffanblu took care of business in their opening match of the tournament, downing the Rough Riders while diving deep into their bench to move to 40-0 all-time in the state tournament.
Christina Hicks led the way with four goals for Punahou, Mallory Meister and Kaya Lee recorded hat tricks, Josie Mobley and Victoria Gacutan put in two and Mahina Damon one.
Emiko Tajima scored twice for Roosevelt and Lauren Croll, Clara Lee and Adoria Lee also found the net.
Kamehameha 12, No. 3 Baldwin 8
The host Warriors surged in the middle quarters, outscoring the Bears 7-2 in the second and third periods, to keep themselves alive for a fifth straight finals appearance. Baldwin scored three straight in the fourth to narrow the gap.
Kyra Kahahawai led the Warriors with four goals, while Lori Char, Shaye Story, Kala‘i Terada and Kamea Kim scored two apiece.
Jacsen Donohue led the Bears with five goals. Kristi Kimora, Keanna Campbell and Jessica Baker completed the scoring.
No. 4 KS-Hawaii 9, Kahuku 8
Ocean Aikau had the game-winner with about 20 seconds left after the Red Raiders surged from down three goals in the fourth quarter to knot the match at 8, and the Big Island Warriors advanced to the semifinals for the second straight year and third time overall.
Aikau put in four for the BIIF champs, Naniloa Spaar had two, and Emma Kanoa, Noe‘ula Lindsey and Aubrey Carter scored.
Kahuku, the OIA runner-up, missed the semis in consecutive years after getting that far the first 14 years of the state tournament. Ava Padaca and Siitia Cravens led the Red Raiders with two goals, while Jade Paranhos-Lopes, Megan Shanley, Kaylee Vendiola and Kayla Smith supplied one each.
