Iolani, Kamehameha play to 1-1 tie

Kamehameha's leading scorer, Kapuamakamae Gomera-Stevens, dries to break free from a Iolani defender in the second half. Michael Lasquero | SL

Iolani managed to hold on for a 1-1 tie with Kamehameha in an Interscholastic League of Honolulu Division I contest at Eddie Hamada Field Tuesday afternoon.

The Raiders took an early lead, but the Warriors were able to respond right back with a goal of their own. Iolani remains undefeated with a 4-0-2 record while Kamehameha now stands at 4-1-1.

"This was a typical Kamehameha versus Iolani girls soccer game," said Iolani coach Kristin Masunaga. "It was physical, fast and it had high intensity."

Freshmen Kelsey Wong, an Iolani defender, scored her first goal of the season in the fourth minute off a free kick from just outside the box. Her effort took a slight deflection to get past the diving Kamehameha goal keeper.

After conceding just their third goal of the season, Kamehameha responded within minutes. The Warriors' leading goal scorer, senior Kapuamakamae Gomera-Stevens, dribbled up the middle of the Raiders' defense and hit a through ball to junior outside halfback Kylie Minamishin. Minamishin took the ball inside the 18-yard box and blasted a left-footed shot into the top left corner of the Iolani goal in the 13th minute.

"Being the leading scorer, it attracts the defenses' attention, said Gomera-Stevens. "But that leaves my teammates open. It was good that Kylie was able to finish."

The first half was a back-and-forth affair. Both teams created chances and both teams came close to taking a lead. But in the second half, the Warriors came out with a purpose.

"Our effort was definitely there," said Kamehameha coach Melissa Moore. "We made a couple adjustments in the midfield and those adjustments worked."

Kamehameha dominated the ball, but Iolani's sophomore goalie Musuai Isaia came up big on many occasions. She and senior goalie Kawai Scanlan each played a half in goal for the Raiders. Both combined for a total of nine saves.

"We rotated our two goalie this game, said Masunaga. "Both Musuai and Kawai give us something different and both deserve to be on the field."

With Punahou (5-0-1) defeating PAC-5 on the same day, the Buffanblu are now atop the ILH Division I standings with 16 points. Iolani is second in the standings with 14 points while Kamehameha has 13 points. Only the top two ILH Division I teams advance to the state tournament.

Both teams has PAC-5 as their next opponent. Kamehameha will play the Wolfpack at home on Dec. 22 while Iolani will host them on Jan 5.