The Kamehameha girls soccer team has a huge hunger this season after coming away unfulfilled the past two state tournaments.
The Warriors completed their first course Friday.
Mya Pasion scored in the sixth minute and Kulia Montgomery found the back of the net in the 45th as No. 1 seed Kamehameha beat Campbell 2-0 in the quarterfinals of the Motiv8 Foundation/HHSAA Division I soccer tournament at Waipio Peninsula Soccer Complex.
The Warriors (9-1-0) scored on their first shot of the game and their first shot of the second half.
“We talked about that as far as being ready first five (minutes of each half),” Kamehameha coach Missy Moore said. “We had been working on some things and we need to fix up some things. One of those things is getting off to better starts.”
The Warriors have played in the past five state tournament finals, winning crowns in 2019, 2020 and 2022. There was no tournament in 2021 because of the COVID-19 pandemic. ILH rival Punahou beat Kamehameha in the past two state finals.
“They’re hungry for sure because their goal is to win a state championship,” Moore said.
Kamehameha, the ILH champion, will face Waipahu in today’s semifinals at 7 p.m. in WPSC’s main stadium.
“Considering the results from last year, we’re so much more hungrier,” Pasion said. “This team is very special. We have what it takes to make it all the way and I’m very confident in this team.”
On the first goal, Sarah Naumu hit Montgomery in the middle of the field and she sent a pass to Pasion on the full run on the left side.
“We had just started the game. I saw Kulia get the ball. She turned her hips, so I knew she was going to pass it to me, so I just started running,” Pasion said. “I just felt confident I could use my speed to get past the defender and I saw there was an open section on the near post. That’s where I shot it.”
Said Montgomery: “I saw there were defenders on the other side and I knew Pasion has wheels, so I was like, ‘Just let me play her.’ ”
The best scoring opportunities for the Sabers (11-4-1) before halftime came in the 13th when Miyah Suster hit Meilani Navarro on the ride side. Navarro fired a shot from in close that was blocked by Warriors goalkeeper Kailla Miller. The rebound bounced back to Navarro and she was again denied by Miller.
Kamehameha had a bunch of near misses before halftime.
Montgomery sent a shot just over the crossbar in the 15th and Madison Sharrer did the same three minutes later.
Naumu had a shot go off the left post in the 21st and Shanti Ng had one go off the crossbar in the 36th.
“We’re hoping to get the posts out of the way now and they start falling in for the semifinal,” Moore said.
The Warriors went up 2-0 on Montgomery’s goal off Kaya Leslie’s throw-in from the right side. Montgomery got past a defender and fired in the shot.
There was some confusion as to which team had possession after the ball went out of bounds.
“Campbell was not ready for that one because the refs, their call,” Montgomery said. “We just took the opportunity and pounced on the counter and we caught them off guard and got the goal.”
The Warriors’ Naumu put another shot off the left post in the 49th.
Campbell, which finished third in the OIA West and third in the OIA tournament, nearly scored in the 77th when Miller came off her line and was unsuccessful in an attempt to fall on the ball. There was a scramble for the ball in the box and Suster came in and sent a shot just over the crossbar.
“I was pretty impressed with our girls, the high press and getting the balls and quick counters,” Campbell coach James Curran said. “We had a couple of opportunities. They didn’t quite execute in the box.”
The Warriors have only allowed one goal all season.
“They’ve been solid all year, very organized, lot of communication from the back,” Moore said of her backline. “That’s what we stress to them every training. They play well off of each other and they play well for each other.”
The quarterfinal round was originally scheduled for Thursday but was postponed a day due to inclement weather.
The games were played concurrently on adjacent fields Friday.
The other results were: Moanalua defeated No. 2 Mililani, 1-0 (4-2 PKs); Punahou defeated No. 3 Kamehameha-Maui 5-1; and Waipahu defeated No. 4 Waiakea 3-2 in double overtime.
On Monday, the D-II final will be played at 5 p.m. at the main stadium and the D-I final will follow at 7 p.m. All other games scheduled for that day were canceled.
