Iolani, Punahou play to scoreless draw for the second time this season


Greg Yamamoto | SL

For the second time this season, third-ranked Iolani and second-ranked Punahou played to a scoreless draw, setting up a potential winner-take-all playoff.

"In these Punahou-Iolani games, they are always tight games," said Iolani head coach Christopher Lee. "Everything is contested, so today was no different."

Goals have been at an absolute premium between the two teams, with just seven total goals scored in the last six meetings, but the Raiders had an gem of a chance in the 73rd minute.

Kualau Manuel placed a shot with pace that required Punahou keeper Aslan Chong to high-point the ball in order to keep it out of goal.

"Aslan been playing at a high level in club all these years and his experience showed there," said Lee on the save. "He made a key save which kept them in the game."

In the 51st minute, it was Chong again who came to the rescue for the Buffanblu, when a defender slipped on a play, allowing Iolani to possess the ball in a dangerous spot. His slide tackle of Devin Pang doused what was another golden opportunity for the visiting squad.

Getting back to the aforementioned single game playoff, to invoke that would require both teams to finish off games versus Mid-Pacific and Kamehameha with identical results.

"We have to take of business these coming matches, if we do that, then we don't have to worry about what the other team (Iolani) is doing," said Gutierrez.