The Moanalua and Kaiser girls soccer teams played to a scoreless tie Saturday that only Na Menehune could celebrate.
The result allowed Moanalua (7-0-1, 22 points) to clinch the East’s top seed and first-round bye in the OIA Division I tournament, set for Feb. 7-12.
“It just shows the type of girls I have on my team,” said Moanalua coach Nikki Dela Pena. “We don’t have a very big roster. Having a year and a half off from high school (soccer), some of these girls don’t play club. Our girls put in the work and understand there is improvement (to be made) and set out to improve themselves.”
Kaiser (7-1-1, 22 points) will be the No. 2 seed and also receive a bye into the quarterfinals of the OIA tournament.
Moanalua will play Kailua in its regular-season finale Wednesday, while Kaiser’s regular season is over.
Even if Na Menehune lose, they hold the tiebreaker over the Cougars by virtue of their win over Kalani on Jan. 15. Kaiser lost to Kalani last week.
“With our loss (to Kalani) this needed to be a win for the point system to work out, but our girls played a tough game and I couldn’t ask for anything else from them,” said Kaiser coach Noelani Bio.
Solid defense was on display Saturday as Moanalua and Kaiser did a good job staying behind the ball and limiting runs by the opposition.
“We had some opportunities,” Bio said. “I was happy with our attack. It was tough though. They were big and strong in the back, so they were kind of pushing us around which made it difficult.”
Na Menehune entered with 49 goals this season, while the Cougars had scored 26.
“We just needed to be a little more disciplined on our execution today,” Dela Pena said.
Moanalua keeper Zoe Crawford and Kaiser counterpart Malia Felix were rarely tested.
“My defense was very strong,” Crawford said. “They held the line very well. If they get beat, they have someone come around and cover for them and they usually just clear the balls when we have pressure.”
Felix said: “We did a really good job adjusting to this field because of the bumps and the (hot) weather. We stayed together really well and didn’t let any balls through.”
The best scoring opportunity for the Cougars in the first half came in the 20th minute when Kalie Otani got the ball in the box while Na Menehune defenders were trying to shield her, but her shot was smothered.
The best chance for Na Menehune in the first half came in the 31st minute when Maleah Kanayama controlled a loose ball in the 6-yard box and fired a shot that was saved by Felix.
Moanalua dictated play for much of the second half and nearly scored in the 73rd when Ryah Echavaria passed the ball to Elana Melton, but her shot from in close was blocked over the net.
“It was kind of hard staying connected as a team when I know our team could have done better,” Melton said. “I honestly believe we were the better team, but we just didn’t prove it today and it was very frustrating not being able to show out like we normally do.”
A minute earlier, Kaiser had a free kick to the right of the penalty area, but Courtney Rosen’s shot just missed the goal.
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Other scores
OIA
Varsity Girls
Castle 1, Kailua 0
Moanalua 0, Kaiser 0
Kalaheo 8, Farrington 0
Varsity Boys
Kalani 7, McKinley 0
Kaiser 4, Moanalua 0
ILH
Varsity Girls
Pac-Five 4, Damien 0
‘Iolani 3, Punahou II 0
