Hawaii Prep forward Emi Higgins gets past the Kapaa defense in the second half. Michael Lasquero | SL

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Hawaii Prep's Teah Van Bergen advances the ball against Kapaa in the second half. Michael Lasquero | SL

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Freshman defender Alianna West keeps the ball away from Kapaa's April Barnes. Michael Lasquero | SL

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Fri, Feb 9, 2018 @ Waipio

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Hawaii Prep

3

Kapaa

0

Final	1st	2nd	OT	2OT	PK	Tot
Hawaii Prep (15-2-0)	3	0	-	-	-	3
Kapaa (12-2-1)	0	0	-	-	-	0

E. Higgins (5', 33')   T. Van Bergen (7')

WAIPAHU — Score early and lean on its defense. That's the formula Hawaii Prep followed for the second straight day at The Queen's Medical Center/HHSAA Division II Girls Soccer State Championships.

Emi Higgins scored a pair of goals and Teah Van Bergen added another — all in the first half — to lead Hawaii Prep to a 3-0 win over No. 2 seed Kapaa in a semifinal game at Waipio Peninsula Soccer Stadium Friday afternoon.

Ka Makani improved to 14-2 and will try for an unprecedented fifth consecutive state crown when they will face the winner of the Kauai—Kamehameha-Hawaii semifinal at 5 p.m. Saturday in the main stadium.

The Kauai Interscholastic Federation champion Warriors have lost two of their last three games to fall to 11-2-1. They will play for third place at 3 p.m. Saturday at Field No. 6

Like it did in Thursday's quarterfinal-round victory over Sacred Hearts, Hawaii Prep netted two goals in the first seven minutes of Friday's contest.

Just five minutes in, Isabella Police drove a ball down the right sideline before cutting back toward the goal just before the end line. She then dropped off a pass in front of the goal to Higgins, who redirected it into the goal with her left foot.

"Bella took it down the line — she's so fast, one of our fastest girls probably — and at first I called for it and she faked a girl, and I was like, ‘OK,' but I know she's going to get it to me, so I kept going and then she put it right to my foot so it went in," said Higgins, who also scored twice against the Lancers Thursday.

Only two minutes after Higgins found the back of the net, Van Bergen attempted a header in front of the goal that was deflected by Kapaa goalkeeper Bernadette Lindey, but Van Bergen stayed with it and headed the rebound into the left side of the goal.

"It was the exact same thing (as the first goal)," said Van Bergen, a senior forward. "Bella went down, passed me the ball and to be honest, in the back of my mind, when I was going for the shot, I was like, ‘Wow, I don't know where this was going and it ended up going straight up and then it just jumped and I saw it go into the top corner."

Van Bergen said the play that set-up both goals is one that they've run many times before.

Hawaii Prep's Teah Van Bergen advances the ball against Kapaa in the second half. Michael Lasquero | SL    Purchase image

"With that goal, we practice that constantly. If there's one drill that we practice the most, it's taking it down and dropping it back," said Van Bergen, whose 12 goals this seasons ranks second only to Higgins' 18 on the team.

A key reason for HPA's success with it has been the continued development of Police, a freshman winger.

"She's definitely somebody we can count on, for sure, when it comes to her speed," Van Bergen said. "She doesn't end up flaking out when it comes to stuff like that. She'll work hard every game."

About 25 minutes later, Police fed a ball up the middle to Van Bergen, who found Higgins with an ensuing pass. Higgins consequently drew a foul in the 18-yard box, resulting in a penalty kick.

Higgins converted the PK to the right side of the goal to make the Ka Makani lead 3-0.

Perry said his team was executing at a high level in the first half.

"I told them after yesterday (against Sacred Hearts) that that was a beautiful (first) twenty minutes and then today they did even better," Perry said. "We really did some nice stuff getting upfield and then attacking. Bella had some great attacks down the right side and we were very composed in our finishes in there, which was great to see, and then, you know, it's hard for them to come back from that quick start. We played really smart after that. We didn't take a lot of chances and we just kept the ball in front of us."

Van Bergen said the team's quick starts the past two days can be traced to its pre-game preparations.

"One of the biggest things we talk about in our huddle before games is to come out on top and when you come out with that energy and as the dominating team for the first five minutes, it sets the tone for literally the rest of the game," Van Bergen said.

It was the first time Kapaa was held scoreless in a game this season. Goalkeeper Maia Mills made five saves for HPA.

"Our keeper was on fire yesterday. She had the game of her life and she just brought that into today," Van Bergen said. "She's just a sophomore, but she's so talented, and our defense, everyone."