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Prep Beat
The Kahuku girls' soccer games are usually a tale of two halves. Kahuku girls
rally to winBy Tim Crouse
Special to the Star-BulletinThe Red Raiders start slowly in the first half, but when the second half rolls around, they start clicking on all cylinders.
Against Pearl City today in the quarterfinals of the Meadow Gold Girls' State Soccer Championships, one good half may not be enough.
Second-seeded Pearl City (11-1) and Kahuku (11-2) meet in the one quarterfinal today at 5:30 p.m. at Waipio Soccer Park.
Top-seeded Baldwin (12-0) plays Kailua (10-2-2) at 3:30 p.m. and No. 3 seed Punahou (10-0-2) takes on Mililani (11-1-1) at 7:30 p.m. No. 4 Hawaii Prep (11-1) and Aiea (11-2-1) play at 1:30 p.m. in the first match of the day.
In the opening day of tournament play yesterday, Kahuku gave up an early goal to Hilo, but dominated the second half and got a pair of goals by Natasha Kai for a 2-1 win.
The victory sets up a rematch against a Chargers team that knocked the Red Raiders out of the OIA Tournament with a 3-2 double overtime win on Jan. 30.
"We know that (today) we're going to have to play both halves," Kahuku coach Randy Myers said.
He said his team didn't play well in the first half against Pearl City the first time around.
"We came back in the second half, but I think we've got to step up and play the whole game. That's what it's going to take to win," Myers said.
Yesterday, Hilo scored two minutes into the game when the ball glanced off a Kahuku defender and over the outstretched arms of goalkeeper Nichele Benuska.
Hilo actually put the ball into the net again midway through the first half, but the Vikings were offsides on the play.
The Red Raiders finally started putting pressure on Vikings' goalie Cecily Okimura toward the end of the half.
Okimura made the most remarkable save of the game when Kai burst into the box with no defenders between them. Okimura jumped and actually made the kick save on Kai's shot while in mid-air.
"I think we dominated half the game and we had a chance," Hilo coach Kelsey Hiraishi said. "But (Kahuku) battled back and that's why they're here."
It didn't take long in the second half for Kahuku to get things turned around.
"We've learned to adjust (at halftime) and we have a couple minutes to rest and figure out what we're doing wrong," said stopper Anna Myers.
Less than a minute into the second half, Kai ran down a ball deep in Hilo's zone, made a move on a defender and walked in alone for an easy score.
Kai used her speed again minutes later to break away from the defense, but Okimura smothered the ball for a save.
Kahuku continued to press the attack, and Jasmine Ladao made a perfect lead pass to Kai, who buried the game-winner in the 55th minute.
"We had several opportunities. We had other shooters, but Tasha seems to be the one who puts the ball in the back of the net," Myers said. "Jasmine made a tremendous pass to set up (the second goal). She was awesome in this game."
Kailua 3, Kauai 1: Sarah Takekawa scored two goals in the second half to break a halftime tie and lead the Surfriders to a meeting with defending state champion Baldwin.
Senior midfielder Carli Yokoi started the scoring for Kailua at 21:03 of the first half.
Amber Santos scored the equalizer for the Red Raiders 13 minutes into the second half.
Takekawa netted her goals in the 60th and 70th minutes.
"We had speed and we were able to pass through them and around them and get good crosses off," Takekawa said.
Aiea 2, Waiakea 0: Nadine Manangan scored both goals to lift Na Alii past the Warriors.
Manangan scored on a penalty kick 27 minutes into the game and on a corner kick in the 55th minute.
Aiea outshot Waiakea, 18-10, with 13 shots in the second half.
Na Alii goalie Diana Shiroma made seven saves in the game.
Mililani 5, King kekaulike 0: Five players scored as the Trojans put their offense in high gear against Na Alii.
Julie Broussard notched a first-half goal in the 23rd minute, then Jennifer Iha, Erica Salvador and Jackie Matsuda all scored in the first 15 minutes of the second half.
Krystal Uchida finished off the scoring for Mililani.
ILH
The Kamehameha boys upset first-place Iolani, 1-0, to claim second place and knock Punahou out of playoff contention.The Raiders win the ILH title with an 8-1-3 record, and Kamehameha finished 8-2-2.
Kekoa Smith scored the lone goal for the Warriors.
Punahou (7-2-3) dropped a 2-1 decision to St. Louis (5-3-4).
Kamehameha and King Kekaulike -- the Maui Interscholastic League runner-up -- playoff on Saturday for the final berth in the state tournament.
Basketball
Jodi Nakashima, an Oahu Interscholastic Association basketball all-star from Roosevelt, has made a verbal commitment to attend Boise State.Nakashima said she'll play point guard or shooting guard for the Broncos.
"It wasn't a hard choice, considering that they're going to be in the WAC next year and I'll get to come home," Nakashima said.
She has been an OIA all-star since her freshman year.
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