Laulea Akana-Phillips saved the match, pure and simple.

The Kamehameha goalkeeper dove high off the ground to make an arm save of a blistering shot by Punahou’s Jamie Shimamoto late in Tuesday’s 1-0 girls soccer victory over Punahou at Kunuiakea Stadium.

“I saw her winding up and I was going to do everything in my will to keep it out,” Akana-Phillips said. “I let my body go and I got it.”

“Oh my,” Kamehameha coach Melissa Moore said. “That was such a great save.”

The victory in steady rain and heavy wind might be a good sign for the Warriors, who moved into an Interscholastic League of Honolulu first-place tie with ‘Iolani. Both teams are 4-0 in the league. The Buffanblu fell to 4-1 in the hotly contested race. First place is one thing, but the battle for second will eliminate the third-place finisher from the state tournament. Last season, Kamehameha was left out.

“When you get the win on your home field, it means so much,” Moore said. “We didn’t have a letdown. Both teams battled to the end. It’s always a great game between these two teams.”

Tatum Kauka notched the only goal with less than five minutes to go in the first half with a rocket from the right corner that somehow found an opening on the short side off of Buffanblu goalkeeper Aaliya Fesili, who was tad late going from her right to left.

“Nobody enjoys losing,” Punahou coach Starr Johnson said. “At this point, it’s early and our focus is going to be on how we recover and reignite.”

Both teams had lots of outstanding rushes, only to be thwarted by two solid defensive units.

In the second half, Kamehameha’s Kapuamakamae Gomera-Stevens watched her 30-yard bullet sail past the intersection of the crossbar and post by a foot.

Akana-Phillips also came up big in the late stages by jumping on a loose ball as Punahou forward Kaile Halvorsen’s foot was striking it.

In the next ILH contests involving the three contenders, ‘Iolani visits Punahou (9-1 overall) on Jan. 5, and Kamehameha (12-0) travels to ‘Iolani on Jan. 13.