StarBulletin.com

'Iolani wins battle of nerves


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POSTED: Friday, February 12, 2010

Sometimes being a marked man opens doors for others. But in the end, you can't keep a good man down.

Interscholastic League of Honolulu scoring leader Nick Goo scored in the 61st minute to cap a 3-0 'Iolani win over third-seeded Baldwin yesterday in a quarterfinal match of the JN Automotive/HHSAA Boys Division I Soccer State Championships at the Waipio Peninsula Soccer Complex.

'Iolani (9-2-2) advances to tomorrow's semifinal round where it faces Kamehameha in a 7 p.m. match at the Waipio Peninsula Soccer Stadium.

Raiders midfielder Jason Yuasa broke a scoreless tie in the 34th minute and forward Jordan Lee added another goal 3 minutes later to take a 2-0 lead into the half. Goo finally got his first score of the tournament midway through the second half on a close through-ball to notch his 13th goal of the season.

“;Everybody knows about Nick, he's a marked player,”; 'Iolani head coach Chris Lee said.

“;We utilize him and how he works off of the ball, but we're still able to find him, because he's defended so closely. We talked to the other players about stepping things up, making sure that all 11 players on the field do their job as well.”;

Baldwin, the upstart Maui Interscholastic League regular-season champion, fielded a team of younger players that had only a pair of seniors. But the Bears came to play. The majority of the first half was a see-saw battle for possession and establishing an attack and it got physical at times. Baldwin drew the first of two yellow cards in the opening stanza and committed 12 fouls to 'Iolani's six. 'Iolani, the defending state champion, was tentative at first, but got into a rhythm as the clocked ticked.

“;I think a lot of it was just nerves,”; Lee said. “;They just needed to get settled into the game and start showing some composure. In addition, we'd never seen Baldwin play so we didn't know what to expect. We did know that they are a quality team and they played like it.”;

Once both teams got acquainted, the Raiders chose the opening dance. With 6 minutes left in the half, Yuasa got the ball and passed it to Jordan Lee, who returned it on a two-touch. Yuasa took the ball and slid it toward the far post and past the keeper for the goal.

Three minutes later, Lee joined the party. Goo took a shot on goal that was deflected out by Baldwin goalie Leo Fayt. Lee took the rebound and tapped it past the Bears defender. After the pair of goals, the early game jitters were history.

“;We really calmed down and played 'Iolani soccer after that,”; Lee said.

Goo, a senior forward and last year's HHSAA state tournament most outstanding player, iced the game in the 61st minute. With a two-goal cushion, the Raiders kept in the groove.

“;We started to calm down in the second half, we started knocking the ball around better, getting a good feel,”; Goo said. “;Ryan Kohara slipped one through and I just got past their defense and slid it past the keeper.”;

 

Kealakehe 2, Kapolei 0

Lane Lorenzo scored in the 59th minute and Ryan DeVerse followed with a goal 14 minutes later to lead the Waveriders to a shutout of the Hurricanes.

Kapolei played two overtimes to advance out of the first round, but ran out of steam against the Big Island representative. Kealakehe moves on to play Punahou in the semifinals.

 

Kamehameha 3, Mililani 2, OT

Kalai Hanohano scored in overtime to lead the Warriors over the Trojans and into the semifinals.

Ridge Kaneshiro scored for Kamehameha just 2 1/2 minutes into the match, but Mililani fought back when Landon Ouchi scored in the 18th minute. The Warriors gained the advantage again when Ryan Ho scored at the 52-minute mark, but Ryan Akiu answered for Mililani a minute later to send it to overtime.

The Warriors move on to face ILH rival and defending champion 'Iolani.

 

Punahou 3, Moanalua 0

It took a while, but the Buffanblu broke through and blitzed Na Menehune.

Sean Hungerford scored in the 62nd minute and Kaimi Fairburn and Quintin Love added goals in the shutout.

 

Division II
Mid-Pacific 2, Christian Liberty 0

Cody Sullivan broke the ice with a goal in the 53rd minute and the top-seeded Owls shut down the Canefire.

Taylor Nemiroff sealed it for Mid-Pacific, the only Oahu team left in the tournament, with a goal in the 73rd minute.

 

Seabury Hall 1, Kailua 0, OT

Mark Walker broke free and scored in overtime to lead the Spartans over the Surfriders.

Seabury Hall advances to play Mid-Pacific in the semifinals today.

 

Kapaa 2, Makua Lani 0

The defending champion Warriors kept the Lions out of the goal and moved on to the semifinals.

Kaisen Carrillo scored in the 59th minute and Brycen Phillip added a goal at the end of regulation.

 

Honokaa 3, McKinley 0

The Dragons benefited from an own-goal 6 minutes into the match and cruised from there, beating the Tigers.

Sage Johnson followed the gift with two goals for Honokaa.