KEALAKEKUA — Kamehameha Schools Hawai‘i girls soccer is heading back to the dance…again.
The Lady Warriors clinched their fourth consecutive island title in the Central Pacific Bank/Big Island Interscholastic Federation (BIIF) Division II Girls Soccer Championship over Hawaii Preparatory Academy on Wednesday night at Julian R. Yates Field, winning 1-0.
The match was a physical grind that featured tough defense, injuries and limited shots on goal. Nonetheless, KSH was able to grind it out — beating Ka Makani for the third time this season.
“The trip (to Konawaena High School) was tough, and we ended up having a shorter warm-up than usual,” Lady Warriors coach Steve Cootey told the paper. “But it’s something we’ve done in the past, so we were prepared for it. Hopefully, it will make us better in the long run, but overall I am very happy with the result.
“They made it very difficult for us to score, and sometimes that’s just the way it goes.”
KSH junior midfielder Madisyn Meyers, who leads the team in goals with 13, scored the match’s lone goal near the end of the first half off a corner kick. Cootey raved about Meyers’ versatility and hard work across this season.
“She’s always been a very determined, dedicated, hard-working player,” he said. “She’s put in quite a bit of work in the offseason to add to the attacking side of the game. She played center back for us last year, so it’s something that we’ve been experimenting on and moving players around. She added a lot of opportunities from the wing and created a lot of goals from that area.
“She’s been really strong in front of the goal. She’s definitely earned her goals with the work she’s put in.”
The Lady Warriors finished the season 10-1-1 overall, posting a 58-3 goal differential. Starting the season 0-1-1, KSH closed the BIIF season with a 10-match win streak, allowing no goals in that span.
While KSH has been hot since early December, Cootey believes it has another level it can reach with state playoffs approaching next week. After falling in the HHSAA DII state championship to PAC-5 in penalty kicks a year ago, the Lady Warriors are hoping to reach the mountaintop stage again. Cootey wants his team to be attack-minded in the upcoming tournament, with and without the ball.
“Generally we want to be attack-minded, and that includes with and without the ball. Like when we don’t have the ball, we’re still being intentional in the way we defend to get a ball back and put ourselves in positions. With the girls that we have, we are more than capable of putting a lot of goals in and being forward-thinking and attack-minded. We want to be aggressive, set the tone and dictate play.
“I think we definitely can reach another level. But my mindset going in has always been experimenting and trying different things throughout the season, so we can peak at the right moment — which we hope can be the state championship. So we’ve always done things with moving people around and trying different formations, while also adding different ways to attack and learning from those — and then putting everything together. And I think we’re still doing that; the girls are feeling good, and I think we’re ready. I am definitely confident we’ll give it our best shot.”
HPA ends its island season at 7-5-0 overall and 6-4-0 in league play. Although Ka Makani lost, it will still compete in next week’s state tournament. Head coach Steve Perry was happy with the way his team battled, and is excited for the challenge of next week.
“Very happy with our effort (against KSH),” Perry said. “Girls stayed positive and battled to the end. Great mindset from them. We knew going in that KSH was a strong team all over the pitch, so we needed all of our players to step up with their role.
“The girls were disappointed in the final result, but are very excited to be apart of the HHSAA tournament next week. Big shout out to Tae Detwiler, Madie Buczyna, Lehia Akau and Reece Lustik for leading the way.”
The HHSAA DII bracket is yet to be released (as of late Thursday afternoon). For updates on KSH and HPA in the state tournament, see the paper next week.
Waiakea 2, Hilo 0
A year in the making, Waiakea girls soccer got its vengeance.
Following the DII championship, the Lady Warriors beat local rival Hilo 2-0 to clinch the BIIF DI championship. Falling to the Lady Vikings a year ago in the title match, Waiakea rebounded with Wednesday’s shutout, while also beating Hilo two other times earlier this season.
The Lady Warriors finished the island season 11-1-0 overall, posting eight shutouts with a 64-4 goal differential. Waiakea essentially went undefeated, but had to forfeit a road match on Dec. 21, 2024 due to a mechanical issue with one of Kealakehe’s goalposts.
“(Hilo) is a great team; they’re always going to be a great team,” Lady Warriors coach Steve Petner said of the win. “We had to get ourselves ready and be prepared for a tight game — hoping things would go our way. And thankfully, they did.”
Waiakea was led by the sister duo of Kalia Franklin and Ailani Franklin, who scored both of the teams goals — Kalia at the end of the first half and Ailani off a penalty kick in the second.
“Cannot ask for more as a coach with those two; they’re very talented players,” Petner said of the sibling pair. “But we have plenty of talent all the way down our roster, and they work so well together. Daye Yanazaki, Sadee Tamanaha, Elina Salai…I could go down the entire list. All of them played great.
“I also need to credit my assistants — Terry Yamane and Adree Johnson — for helping create such a great team.”
Falling to Campbell in the HHSAA quarterfinals last season, Petner and the rest of the team hope to make an even deeper run this time around. Petner admitted the task won’t be easy, but is eager to see his group showcase its talent to the rest of the state.
Due to the Lady Warriors being so dominant all season, Petner believes the team doesn’t need to change much going forward.
“Over these next few days of training, we’re going to continue working on what we’ve been working on,” he said. “We’re going to keep up the training that we’ve been doing. From now on, it’s in the players’ hands. They’re the ones who deserve all the credit, and they’re the ones who will determine how things go.
“But they’re a really good bunch of players, and I really enjoyed working with them this season and with some of them over the last four years.”
Waiakea will be the No. 4 seed in the DI tournament, earning a first-round bye. The Lady Warriors will play the winner of Waipahu vs. Kapolei at 3 p.m. Thursday at the Waipi‘o Soccer Complex, Field No. 6.
Hilo ends its BIIF season at 7-3-1 overall, also earning a spot in the HHSAA tournament. The Lady Vikings will face Moanalua at 2:30 p.m. Monday at Hilo Bayfront in opening-round action.
See the paper next week for coverage of both teams.
