Punahou did not get a seeded bye into the Division I quarterfinals of The Queen’s Medical Center/HHSAA Girls Soccer State Championships, but the Buffanblu did keep their spotless win-loss record intact Monday.
Visiting Aiea showed up at Alexander Field and stayed with Punahou for almost a half before the ILH runner-up Buffanblu (8-0-3) sent them home with a 1-0 defeat.
Now, Punahou — which placed second in the ILH, two points behind Kamehameha (8-0-2) — heads to the quarterfinals against third-seeded MIL champion King Kekaulike (9-0-1) on Thursday at 3 p.m. at Waipio Peninsula Soccer Stadium. Aiea is out of the running for its first state championship, but Na Alii (10-4-1) gave it a good go.
“This is states, so every game is a must-win, and every game of the season has kind of been a must-win,” Punahou coach Shelley Izuno said afterward. “Having that attitude is good. We don’t plan to (lose). We were lucky to have had some chances today. Aiea completely took us off our game. We didn’t play our best game. Hopefully that comes out Thursday.”
There weren’t many offensive chances at either end and Punahou had the edge in the field-position battle.
Freshman Brooke Bailey scored the game-winner for the Buffanblu in the final two minutes of the first half with a low shot from 16 yards out after an initial shot by Allison Little deflected off of a defender. Bailey was overcome with emotion as soon as she saw the ball cross the line.
“Yes, tears of joy,” said Bailey, who was in her first game back after a month of recovering from an injury. “When I scored, it was just kind of the best feeling because when you’re out so long, you think you’re not going to get back soon.”
It was hard for Punahou to penetrate the tough Aiea defense, which was led by Phoenix Miranda and Breenalyn Shimabukuro. Shayla Sugai, Na Alii’s goalkeeper, made a fantastic diving save in the final four minutes of the match, robbing the Buffanblu’s Leila Mukaigawa on a partial breakaway.
“We’re a super young team, so I hope next year we can come back stronger and improve overall as a team,” said Sugai, a junior, whose team fell into the consolation bracket.
Aiea’s best chance also came in the late stages, when Taj Fermahin broke in dangerously close. The Punahou keeper got a piece of it and the ball was knocked out of danger by Taylor Matsubara, preserving the win.
“They (the Buffanblu) are a tough team,” said Aiea assistant coach Benji Villaflor, who was subbing in for his brother, head coach Ben Villaflor. “They were more aggressive. They beat us to the ball. When you have a game like that, the team that is engaged is going to win. It was unfortunate they scored in the last minute and a half (of the first half). I didn’t think they had many other good chances. We were matched pretty well.”
Izuno is looking for improvement from her Buffanblu troops.
“Every game out, it just gets harder from here,” she said. “We can’t have this kind of game again. We have to peak going into the week. Our intention is to play all the way until (the final) Saturday. I’m proud of the kids and their team effort.”
Pearl City 3, Hilo 1
Ysabel Aburto, Chanyn Santos and Caylie Uyema scored goals in the second half to help the Chargers (11-3-1) rally from a 1-0 halftime deficit to advance to play OIA champion Mililani on Thursday at 5 p.m.
The Trojans beat Pearl City 2-1 in the regular season.
Kylie Kalauli scored in the 28th minute to give the Vikings (8-7) a 1-0 lead.
KS-Maui 1, Campbell 0
Kealani Warner’s goal in the 60th minute gave the MIL runner-up Warriors (8-1-2) a win over the Sabers (10-2-2), who advanced to the state final a year ago. KS-Maui advances to play defending champion Kamehameha on Thursday at 7 p.m.
Moanalua 1, Kailua 0
Na Menehune (10-1-2) got an own goal to beat the Surfriders (7-4-2) and advance to the quarterfinals against BIIF champion Konawaena on Thursday at 1 p.m.
