OIA Girls Soccer
Pearl City, Kapolei play to 1-1 tie


  



Fri, Jan 6, 2017 @ Kapolei


Final 1st 2nd OT 2OT PK Tot
Pearl City (11-5-1) 0 1 - - - 1
Kapolei (7-5-3) 1 0 - - - 1
B. Yoshida (4')   B. Ihara (62')

KAPOLEI – If either Kapolei or Pearl City could have put together two good halves, one would have come out with a victory in Oahu Interscholastic Association Western Division girls' soccer Friday night.

Since neither could, they ended in a 1-1 tie.

A potential game-winning shot by Pearl City's Sunshine Fontes from about 30 yards came a second after the game-ending whistle.

The Hurricanes (5-2-2 for 17 championship points) needed the win to propel them into second place, which the Chargers (6-2-1 for 19 points) own. Mililani, which played to a 2-2 draw with Aiea, clinched the West title at 7-0-2 (23 points) with one game left in the regular season.

"I think it was a tale of two halves," Kapolei coach Brian Beck said. "I think we got a little tired in the second half…Once we gave up that (second-half) goal – we've given up that same (type) of goal in back-to-back games (first) versus Aiea – it's that same back spot that got us. We got tired, we got a little down, but I was happy we held them off at the end."

Kapolei jumped out in front on Bryana Yoshida's header from about six yards out four minutes into the game. But the Chargers tied the game at 1 in the 62nd minute when Brittny Ihara hit the back left corner of the goal from about 20 yards out.

After sluggish first half, the Chargers dominated the second half, playing on the Hurricanes' side of the field for much of the 40-minute half.

Pearl City coach Frank Baumholtz had no explanation for his team's slow start.

"I can't tell you why the first half was they way it was," Baumholtz said. "Very frustrating…They have to figure out how to get out of the funk they're in and that's it. I can't tell you anything else."

The tie snapped the Chargers' four-game win streak after successive losses to Mililani and Campbell.

The tie, though, hurt Kapolei more, as far its place in the standings for seeding purposes for the upcoming 12-team OIA Division I tournament. Yet, it played outstanding defense to keep the OIA's most prolific scoring team to one goal. The Chargers have two of the top three scorers in OIA Division I in Randi Fontes and Daelenn Tokunaga, each with 15 goals. Fontes is seventh with 10.

"You're going up against the top three goal scorers in the OIA and the state and to keep them off the board was fantastic. But we knew during practice all week, just working on girls taking quick shots, making sure we were there, making sure that we're blocking shots. I was happy we held them off, but we definitely needed the win."

Despite the pressure the Chargers put on in the second half, the Hurricanes limited the damage to just one goal.

"I'm more excited that we were able to – once I saw Pearl City start to move the ball well and we started getting tired – fight at the end," Beck said. "Sometimes toward the end of the season, just the ability to fight and, especially going into playoffs, if you're able to hold at least at bay for a little bit, I'm pleased with that part of it."

The coaches were mixed about the Fontes' potential game-winning shot. Baumholtz said an injury just before the break away shot should have been accounted for toward saving time. But Beck said coaches were told in a preseason meeting that there would be no time added to take into account for injuries or other game stoppages.

"It's a tough one," Beck said. "Being a referee, I've been in that situation before where you have two teams that are battling really hard and you don't want to see one team lose, but they're not supposed to add time this year is the quote-unquote rule. It's hard luck for Pearl City."

 

 

 



Reach Stacy Kaneshiro at [email protected].




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