No. 1 Punahou rallies to tie No. 3 Iolani


Punahou's Micah Williams (20) battles for possession with Iolani's Branson Suzuki and Elijah Brown. Williams scored the final goal of the match to tie the contest. Michael Lasquero | SL

MAKIKI — A tie never felt so good for the Punahou boys soccer team.

The top-ranked Buffanblu scored twice in the final eight minutes of regulation to rally from a 2-0 first-half deficit to tie No. 3 Iolani, 2-2, in an ILH match at Alexander Field Saturday afternoon.

The Raiders (8-1-1) entered the contest atop the ILH Division I standings and would have clinched the league's first-round title and a state berth with a win.

Instead, Punahou (7-0-2) controls its own destiny now with one more first-round match next Tuesday against Mid-Pacific.

The Buffanblu were kept off the scoreboard until Matthew Fairfax painted the left corner in the 73rd minute. Four minutes later Micah Williams got loose and netted the equalizer on a good look.

Iolani got goals by Brendan Parke in the 15th minute and Elijah Brown in the 37th minute.

The tie ended a eight-game winning streak by the Raiders, who dropped their season opener to Punahou, 1-0.