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Saturday, February 10, 2001
When it comes to preparation, Baldwin coach Kawika Keator always puts the emphasis on his own team. Bears, Trojans
make finalBy Jack Danilewicz
Special to the Star-Bulletin"It's all on us," said Keator, whose defending state championship team will meet Mililani in tonight's Meadow Gold Hawaii 2001 Girls' State Soccer Championship final at 7:30 at Aloha Stadium.
"We feel if we come out hard from the beginning, that we can take anybody," he said. "We always tell them, 'score quick and score many.' "
Last night, the top-seeded Bears (14-0) heeded the words of their coach and pressed the issue early with first-half goals by Taryn Apo and Shawna Shimamura in a 3-0 victory over No. 4 seed Hawaii Prep.
"Yesterday (in Thursday's 5-3 win over Kailua), the first 60 minutes of the game, we didn't really play well," said Keator. "We played well only in the last 20 minutes. It was nice to see us come out hard in the beginning."
Mililani earned a suspenseful 2-1 win over Pearl City in the other semifinal.
The Trojans needed two overtimes and a shootout to punch their ticket for tonight's finale.
Mililani's Jennifer Iha scored the decisive goal in the penalty kick shootout to give the Trojans a 4-2 edge.
Pearl City's Chante Figueroa scored in the 71st minute of regulation to send the game into overtime.
Hawaii Prep coach Stephen Perry sees the Bears as the favorite going into the title game.
"They are very talented, and they take care of business," he said. "I wouldn't say they beat us on hype, but on the field. I think they have nine or 10 girls that could hurt you. They don't have a weak link. They have great skill, but they're also physically strong.
"I've seen a lot of schools win the state title with skill, but they've got the strength to beat you off the ball. They can beat you from 40 yards out or with a play right down the middle. I'd be surprised if they were beaten," Lee said.
Tonight will mark the second meeting between the Bears and Trojans this year. The teams played in the Maui High School preseason tournament, with Baldwin winning, 4-0.
"If we come out and play our game, I think we will be fine," said Shimamura. "We'll be focused."
Mililani coach James Uson hopes the passage of time will benefit his team this time around. He also has the revenge factor to sell his team on, not that the Trojans don't relish their current role of the underdog, with both of their tournament wins coming against seeded teams --No. 2 Pearl City and No. 3 Punahou on Thursday.
"That 4-0 loss (to Baldwin) was a long time ago, but we still look at that," said Uson, whose team is 13-1-1. "Every edge we can get, we'll take."
To hear Keator tell it, the 4-0 score from the preseason meeting was misleading.
"Right now they're a lot better," said Keator. "And right now we're a lot better, so I think it will be a great game with Mililani. The first time, they moved the ball around nice. We scored the goals and they didn't. There wasn't much difference.
"The key will be getting to the ball and getting to the ball first," Keator continued. "When we come out hard and win the ball, that's when our passing game is good."
Junior Mahie Atay will start in net for Baldwin. Offensively, the Bears have relied heavily on both Shimamura and Nicole Garbin, who scored four goals in Baldwin's quarterfinal victory over Kailua on Thursday.
Shimamura scored twice in Baldwin's win over Hawaii Prep last night, and also set up Garbin's go-ahead goal in the win over Kailua.
"Stopping Garbin and Shimamura is our key," said Uson. "Obviously, stopping them first is the main thing, and then hopefully we can get one in."
In addition to Iha, Mililani will count on speedy Mele French for offense.
French scored against Pearl City yesterday, contributing the game's first goal when she took a pass from the corner and headed it in off the crossbar.
She was also the catalyst in the Trojans' win over Punahou with a goal and an assist.
In goal, Uson will go with sophomore Eryn Kishimoto, whom he rates among the state's most capable.
Consolation games
Kailua 1, Aiea 0: Senior Sarah Takekawa scored her fifth goal of the tournament to send the Surfriders (11-3-2) into the fifth-place game against Punahou.Aiea (11-4-1) outshot Kailua, 11-6.
Punahou 3, Kahuku 0: The third-seeded Buffanblu (11-1-2) rebounded from a quarterfinal loss to Mililani to send the Red Raiders to their second consecutive loss.
Senior Tiffany Taylor, who scored a goal against the Trojans, netted two first-half goals against the Red Raiders (11-4). Jennifer Proudfoot added another score later in the half.
Waiakea 2, Kauai 1: Andrea Wong notched the tie-breaking goal in the 59th minute to lift the Warriors (11-4) into the seventh-place game.
Jobette Nabarro opened the scoring for Waiakea. Amber Santos of Kauai (4-3-1) booted the equalizer 55 minutes into the game.
Hilo 1, King Kekaulike 0: Erica Chong scored the lone goal at 62:05 to give the Vikings (11-3) the win against Na Alii (9-5-0).
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