DENNIS ODA / DODA@STARBULLETIN.COM
Ashley Collins, left, and Adria Campbell of Punahou and Kamehameha's Kyenne Waltman chased the ball yesterday.
One shot is all it took for Punahou in a 1-0 Interscholastic League of Honolulu soccer victory yesterday over Kamehameha. Punahou gets its kicks
By Nick Abramo
nabramo@starbulletin.comKelsie Look's 40-yard missile in the 52nd minute gave the visiting Buffanblu (5-0) the victory and a clearer path to the ILH championship. Kamehameha dropped to 4-2 overall and 0-2 against Punahou.
"I was thinking I needed to stay over the ball, so it wouldn't go up and over," Look said about the her shot that found the top left corner. "We practice really hard on it (long shots) so I knew it was in my range. I knew I could do it (score) if I stayed positive and concentrated on it."
The Warriors had a decided advantage in field position, especially in the second half, but couldn't put a handful of golden chances past Buffanblu goalkeeper Allison Lipsher.
"It was anybody's game, and that's the way it is every time we play them," Punahou coach Jorge Barbosa said. "This was a game with a matchup of great teams that could be in a state semifinal, but it won't turn out that way because only one team (from the ILH) goes to the states. That's a shame."
Lipsher, who benefited from a solid back row that includes sweeper Kelsey Baker, Jennifer Lau and Stephanie Deweese, made several remarkable saves.
Early in the game, Lipsher dove to her right to bat away Jordan Weeks' high blast. She also made a jumping save of an India Soo shot from close range.
"She's probably the best goalie in the state," Barbosa said of Lipsher. "But she's one of the biggest unknowns and never really gets a chance to shine because she plays on a strong team."
Late in the second half, with Kamehameha putting loads of pressure on the Punahou defense, Lipsher sprinted five yards out to knock away Healani Leite-Ah Yo's direct kick just as two Warrior strikers were about to converge on the ball.
Lipsher was in the right place to cover up Kamehameha's best second-half chance --Lehua Wood's quick, low shot from just a few yards out.
On Punahou's next trip upfield, a loose ball bounded to Look and she drilled home the game-winner.
"Take 10 of those shots and one of them will go in," Warriors coach Michele Nagamine said. "But she had the composure to launch it.
"The game could have easily ended in a tie, but we didn't back down all the way to the very last whistle."
Soo, Lehua Wood, Alyssa Chun and Jessica Domingo were instrumental in the Warriors' all-out late-game blitz.
For Soo, a junior forward, the loss was devastating.
"It was high pressure the whole game," the distraught Soo said. "It was especially tough to lose because it was our home field, but it's even tougher to have lost two games to them that we could have won."
Punahou came within inches of scoring early in the game when Rachael Lau's corner kick skipped to Lizzy Carlson, who tapped the ball toward the left corner, but a poised Wood kicked the ball away from danger just before it reached the goal line.
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