KAILUA-KONA — Konawaena is moving on up.
After taking over fourth place with a win on Saturday against Waiakea, the Wildcat water polo team managed to swim its way to a tie for third place with a hard fought 11-10 victory over Kealakehe at the Kona Community Aquatic Center on Wednesday.
Both teams battled in the pool, with neither team owning more than a two-goal lead throughout the match. The difference was quite noticeable from the last time the two teams met. One week ago, the Waveriders (3-4) controlled the match against their west side rival, winning 20-15 at Hawaii Preparatory Academy.
The most recent match entered the fourth quarter tied at 9-9. Hannah Tomlinson put Kealakehe up by one on a goal with 5:04 to play. Konawaena’s Payton Walters then tied the match around the two minute mark.
As time continued to tick away, the Wildcats (3-4) were on the positive end of a 5-meter penalty. Bailey Walters set up for the 1-on-1 shot and sent the ball skipping past Kealakehe keeper Helen Remke and into the bottom left corner of the net.
After the score, the Wildcats managed to hold on during the final minute of play for the win.
“The game could have gone any way at any time and I am happy it went our way,” Konawaena head coach Michael Godden said. “The major ejection call worked to our benefit and I have to give kudos to Bailey because she made two of them today, which is pretty much a guaranteed chance to win for us.”
Bailey Walters finished the game with three goals. She scored two in the first quarter and then the game winner.
“I felt I played well and made some important shots,” she said. “I feel there is a lot of pressure on me because I am one of the more experienced players. Sometimes it is hard to live up to that but I played my hardest and I think I did pretty good.”
Aaliyah Butler led the Wildcats with five goals. Jalen Gambee scored two and Payton Walters added one.
Noe Balanay, Madeline Foo, Hannah Tomlinson and Tiara Conn scored two goals each for Kealakehe. Maiana Villegas and Skyler Hudson had one apiece.
The Waveriders jumped out to an early 2-0 lead in the first quarter behind goals from Hudson and Foo. However, Konawaena tied the game on shots by Bailey Walters and Butler. Neither team would trail by more than one goal for the rest of the game.
Kealakehe entered the match on Wednesday with sole possession of third place but now find themselves in a battle with the Wildcats.
“To say I’m disappointed would be an understatement,” Kealakehe head coach Derek Monell said. “We gave Konawaena opportunities with some really bad defensive breakdowns and they played a heck of a game and put the ball in the net.”
Hawaii Prep 13, Kealakehe 4
Ka Makani took on the Waveriders in the second game of the evening at the Kona pool. Hawaii Prep (6-0) jumped out to a 4-0 lead in the first quarter and never looked back.
However, the Waveriders did hold Ka Makani to a season-low in offensive output on the back end of the back-to-back, and Ka Makani coach Greg McKenna had nothing but positive things to say about Kealakehe’s play.
“They were driving, they were moving, and they were keeping us on our toes. I was very impressed,” McKenna said. “We were fortunate to play them in their second game so it will be interesting to see how we play when we go head-to-head with Kealakehe first next Wednesday.”
For Hawaii Prep, the win was a team effort with Janelle Laros, Taylor Doherty and Elizabeth Jim scoring three goals each. Ava Jean Johnston added two, with both coming at the start of the match. Kira Parker and Sarah Houser netted one goal apiece.
“I was happy with a lot of the girls,” McKenna said. “We have been working two goalies, Cassidy Majors and Ala Taylor, and they each played a half and both made really good saves. They have worked really hard this last week and it is showing in the games.”
Tomlinson had a big match for the Waveriders, scoring all four of her team’s goals.
“We played a much better second game than the first,” Monell said. “I thought we played Ka Makani pretty tough. When we got help in the hole, we played pretty well.”
Kamehameha 14, Hilo 6
On the east side of the island, Katelynn Kubo netted four and Alyssa Pelanca and Aubrey Michele Carter added hat tricks as the Warriors (7-1) coasted to their fifth consecutive victory. Kamehameha’s only loss this season came to Hawaii Prep on March 12.
Hilo 7, Waiakea 6
The Vikings (2-6) eeked out a win over their east side rivals, despite a five goal effort from Waiakea’s Kelee Shimzu.
The Warriors fall to 1-7 this season.
