Punahou in semis by
topping Pearl City

One is not enough.

That was Punahou coach Jorge Barbosa's message to his team yesterday at halftime of the quarterfinals of the HHSAA/Meadow Gold Dairies Girls Soccer State Championship. Despite dominating from the opening whistle and leading 1-0 at the half, Barbosa implored his team for more in the second half.

The two-time defending champion Buffanblu heeded the message.

Top-seeded Punahou defeated Pearl City 2-0 yesterday before an estimated crowd of 400 that braved the breezy night at Waipio Peninsula Soccer Park.

"We didn't play as well as we wanted to play," Barbosa said. "But we played scrappy enough to win. Anybody can win it. When you only have a 1-0 lead, no matter how dominant you are it only takes a lucky shot, a lucky poke for the other team to get back in the game. One goal is not enough. You have to go get another one."

The first half nearly ended in offensive futility for Punahou (9-2-2). The Buffanblu had excellent speed and consistently beat defenders, but Chargers goalkeeper Amber Horn made five first-half saves to frustrate Punahou.

But the Buffanblu broke through when junior Elizabeth Carlson netted a ball in the 31st minute to end the scoreless game. The 25-yard free kick dropped just outside of Horn's reach.

"I told them at the half that we were touching the ball too many times," Barbosa said. "We needed to pull the trigger a little faster."

Pearl City's defense was stifling, but the Chargers didn't manage much offense as the Buffanblu outshot them 10-1 in the first half and 24-4 in the game. Defense was the game plan for Pearl City, which knew it would be difficult to match Punahou offensively.

"We didn't have our offensive power," Chargers co-head coach Tracee Kono said. "We switched our lineup a little. That was a change. We were trying to stop them from scoring."

Pearl City appeared to make a few adjustments between the halves, but the second half was more of the same as the relentless Punahou offense continued its aggressive attack. The few chances the Chargers had were immediately suffocated by a swarming Buffanblu defense.

With 5 minutes left in the game, Pearl City had one last opportunity when a streaking Chimene Sienkiewicz met a well-placed kick from Horn. But Sienkiewicz fired a shot that sailed over the crossbar.

Sophomore Marisa Schoen headed a rebound into the goal in the 79th minute to seal the game for the Buffanblu.