Kauai stunned Hawaii Prep with a tying goal and was hanging tough Saturday night at Oahu’s Waipio Peninsula Soccer Complex.
Ka Makani were getting the better of the scoring chances and controlling the match, but with the score tied in the second half, coach Steve Perry remembers thinking, “This is the kind of match soccer teams lose.”
Yes, but not HPA when it comes to the state Division II girls soccer tournament.
Until further notice, Ka Makani are its master, using a three-goal spurt during the final 11-plus minutes to defeat the Red Raiders 4-1 and capture a seventh consecutive state championship.
“I’m only really thinking about this one, maybe tomorrow or later I’ll start thinking about seven,” Perry said. “This a special group. The leadership and humbleness in this group is amazing.
“It was good that we were able to overcome a little bit of adversity.”
All four goals were beautiful in his mind, but Emily Thompson’s will hold a special place. The sophomore was put into the match when Malia Brost reinjured her ankle, and minutes later she took a cross from Angela Cipriano in front of the goal and put Ka Makani (14-1) ahead 2-1.
“Oh my God, that was amazing,” Brost said on the OC16 broadcast. “I’ve known her ever since she joined this team and even before that. We went to school together and middle school together and we’ve been friends since club soccer. I’m so proud of her. That was amazing.”
Cipriano’s cross was on point, but the pass Perry was gushing about afterward was the ball Bella Police sent to set up Kahala Erskine’s goal two minutes later.
“I’m looking forward to seeing that one on TV,” Perry said. “Bella got by her defender and just gave Kahala a beautiful pass.”
Ka Makani’s other two goals came on long-distance blasts and provided a bit of symmetry.
Back in the match, Brost touched a corner kick to Cipriano and got the ball back on a short pass, dribbled a bit and delivered a laser into the net for a three-goal lead in the 75th minute
That tied match at halftime was a distant memory.
“We knew they were going to come out just has hard as we were,” Brost said. “We needed to top that and bring our effort on to field just as much as they did.”
Cipriano finished with three assists.
HPA’s Jenna Perry scored the match’s first goal in the 20th minute on a shot that looked similar to Brost’s except that it came on the opposite side. Jessica Hreljac answered in the 36th minute for the Red Raiders (13-1), who were stymied in their attempt at their first state soccer title.
“We’ve been working on that short corner play all year,” Steve Perry said. “Jenna takes them on the right, Malia takes them on the left.”
It’s the kind of combination that always seems to click for HPA at the state tournament.
