It was a guarantee that the Big Island would come away with the championship trophy from the HHSAA Division II title game on Saturday. The only question — would it be Hawaii Preparatory Academy or Kamehameha-Hawaii?
The answer — Ka Makani, but just barely.
Hawaii Prep used a second half header from Jordan Zarate to down the Warriors 1-0 at the Waipio Peninsula Soccer Complex on Oahu, claiming their third consecutive title.
“It might be three in a row overall but it is only one in a row for this group,” said Hawaii Prep coach Steve Perry. “Fourteen weeks ago the girls came together for the first time and they have grown a lot since then. The skill was there but they learned about chemistry and leadership. They worked hard and supported one another and I am happy for them.”
It’s the third win for Hawaii Prep over Kamehameha-Hawaii this season. Ka Makani won 2-0 in the regular season and 2-1 in the BIIF championship game.
“We knew who their weapon was. They were going to go vertical to Kekai Wong Yuen,” Perry said. “She has great speed and is very dangerous when coming at you with the ball, but we were aware of where she was at all times and our back line did a good job of neutralizing her.”
The state title three-peat puts Hawaii Prep in some rarefied air in Hawaii girls high school soccer lore. Punahou has had multiple eras of dominance (1983-’86, 2003-’05, and 2009-’11 in Division I), Kamehameha-Kapalama from 2006-‘08 and Mid-Pacific was the last team to pull off the feat (2011-’13). Hawaii Prep was on the losing end of the Owls’ final two titles, making Saturday’s contest Ka Makani’s fifth consecutive appearance in the state championship game.
After a scoreless first half in which Kamehameha controlled nearly 70 percent of the possession time, Hawaii Prep came out after the break and started to push the ball up the field.
Early in the second half, Ka Makani’s Kau’i Taylor sent a pass into Teah Van Bergen at the 18, but the shot was deflected out of bounds by Kaila Ambrosio. Hawaii Prep followed the attempt with two corner kicks but the ball was cleared on the first try each time by Kamehameha, something that would plague Ka Makani through most of the game.
About 15 minutes into the second half, Hawaii Prep nearly broke the tie when Marlie Mandaguit sent a free kick in from 30 yards out. The ball headed top shelf, forcing the Kamehameha keeper to punch the it over the crossbar in order to make the save. Ka Makani was unsuccessful on the ensuing corner kick.
As the game crossed the 60 minute mark, control started to edge back to Kamehameha, but at a much closer clip than the 70-30 split in the first half.
With five minutes to go, Hawaii Prep went on the offensive and was awarded another corner. This time a shot by Emi Higgins found Zarate on the far side of the box. Zarate headed the ball perfectly into the upper right corner of the net to give Ka Makani a 1-0 lead.
“Emi sent the perfect cross in,” Zarate said in an interview after the game. “I didn’t have to do anything but get my head on it.”
Both teams came out battling early in the game. Kamehameha tried to score off the opening kickoff when Hevani Haunga raced up field and attempted a kick from the 18, but the ball was blocked by Hawaii Prep’s Julia Perry. Ka Makani answered when Higgins sent a cross into Taylor from just outside the 18. Taylor turned and sent a header to the net, but the ball was stopped by the Warrior keeper.
The game went back and forth for the first 20 minutes, with the ball mostly rolling harmlessly from one keeper to the other. Around the 20 minute mark, Kamehameha started to gain an edge on possession, getting off several attempts on goal.
On a free kick from 20 yards out, Kamehameha’ Wong Yuen sent a bullet flying over the wall, but the ball did not curve back enough, missing on the outside of the right post by a couple of feet. Moments later, Bryana-Marie Ebbers darted into the box, but her shot was deflected out of bounds by a Hawaii Prep defender.
Ka Makani had three straight corner kicks late in the first half but the ball never threatened the net. Kamehameha ended the half with one last attempt on goal when Wong Yuen sent a hard, low shot in from the 18, but the Hawaii Prep keeper made the save.
“It was kind of an exciting game,” Perry said. “We did not play our best but that can be contributed to the way Kamehameha played. They did a good job of disrupting us but we were able to adjust and shut down their attack.”