• Photo gallery: HHSSA Girls Soccer Division II Championship

The Mid-Pacific girls soccer team used patience yesterday to counter Kauai’s aggressiveness.

In the end, the Owls’ patience paid off.

Taylor Higa scored twice on breakaways in the second half as Mid-Pacific rallied to beat No. 3-seeded Kauai 3-2 (4-2 penalty kicks) in the final of the JN Automotive/HHSAA Division II State Championships at Waipio Peninsula Soccer Stadium.

"We want them to run around, and we want to be calm and collected and pass the ball around," said Mid-Pacific coach David Pai. "Take the opportunities when they are there."

It was Mid-Pacific’s first girls state soccer title.

"I am so happy. It’s an honor to be the first," said Higa, who scored in the 62nd and 73rd minutes. "Every year before this we worked so hard, but we just couldn’t (win). This year we worked hard and did our best."

The game went to penalty kicks after 80 minutes of regulation and two 10-minute sudden-death overtimes.

Higa, Marie Moriwake, Lindsey Okubo and Julie Khil made their penalty kicks for Mid-Pacific, the Interscholatic League of Honolulu representative. The fourth shooter was denied by Kauai goalkeeper Kawehi Louis-Diamond.

Kauai’s Malia Kagawa and Lisa Tangalin made their penalty kicks, but the third shooter shot high and wide, and the fourth was blocked by Owls goalkeeper Kiana Yasui.

"We told her, ‘You need to stop one shot,’" Pai said of Yasui.

Kauai, the Kauai Interscholastic Federation champion, took a 2-0 lead on goals by Noe Tamashiro in the 15th and 30th minutes. Both plays were set up by corner kicks from Malia Kagawa.

Even with the two-goal lead, the Red Raiders used an aggressive style of play with the back line sometimes beyond the midfield line.

"We’ve been playing the offside trap the whole year," said Kauai coach Reiko Yoshida. "I thought Mid-Pac’s strategy to bring the halfbacks up to make the runs to deter the offsides worked."

Added Mid-Pacific’s Pai: "I was very surprised they didn’t change how they played with the two-goal lead because even in the first half we had a lot of opportunities. "I knew if we could settle down and not go frantic, we could score on them.

Louis-Diamond denied a couple of Mid-Pacific breakaways, often coming 25 yards off her line to block shots. In addition, Mid-Pacific was called for offsides 13 times.

"We had such a hard time, but we learned how they worked and how they do stuff," said Higa, a sophomore. "We held our runs more and our players had to pass the ball a little faster."

Higa’s goals in the 62nd and 73rd minutes were similar with Higa taking a lead pass, getting ahead of the defense and finishing.

"It was amazing because I knew we needed them. I did everything I could to get it," Higa said.

 CORRECTION: Goalie Kiana Yasui stopped a penalty shot for Mid-Pacific in its victory over Kauai in the Division II girls state soccer final on Saturday. Another player was named in a previous version of this story.