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DENNIS ODA / DODA@STARBULLETIN.COM Punahou players mobbed Marisa Schoen (center) after she scored the team's first goal against Moanalua in last night's state title game.

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3-peat for
Punahou girls

The Buffanblu claim the state
championship with a 2-0 win
over the Moanalua Menehunes

CORRECTION Thursday, February 24, 2005 » Ayasha Abut was named to the all-tournament team at the State Girls Soccer Tournament. Her first name was misspelled as Aysha on Page B9 in one edition Sunday. The Honolulu Star-Bulletin strives to make its news report fair and accurate. If you have a question or comment about news coverage, call Editor Frank Bridgewater at 529-4791 or email him at corrections@starbulletin.com.

In a sport played mainly with your feet, it was using their heads that propelled the Punahou Buffanblu to their third straight state girls soccer championship yesterday.

Before an announced crowd of 1,878 at the Waipio Peninsula Soccer Park, Punahou overwhelmed Moanalua 2-0 in the HHSAA/Meadow Gold Dairies Girls Soccer State Championship final to claim its eighth state title.

"We didn't come out to lose. That's for sure," Punahou coach Jorge Barbosa said. "Our girls were ready. It feels awesome. This feels good. That was a good Moanalua team. They deserved to be here. I like to think we quieted the critics."

Since the start of the state tournament, Punahou has played with a something-to-prove attitude after criticism that the Buffanblu (11-2-2) didn't deserve to win the Interscholastic League of Honolulu championship.

With calm and poise, the Buffanblu played their brand of aggressive offense and outstanding defense to methodically run through the competition this week. No team scored against them in the tournament.

"My defense was absolutely unbelievable," Barbosa said. "With (Kelsey) Baker out there, you can sit back and have a (young) goalie like Ciana Aiwohi. It was unbelievable the line just stepped it up."

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DENNIS ODA / DODA@STARBULLETIN.COM Punahou's Ashley Collins, front, tried to fend off Moanalua's Jasmine Ah Choy last night.

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For someone who played such an instrumental role in the Buffanblu's run to the championship, Baker had little to say of her defense.

"I seriously have no words," Baker said. "I couldn't have asked for anything more from this team.

"This was the best way I could have ended my senior year."

Goals on headers by Marisa Schoen and Kelsie Look in the first half gave the Buffanblu control of the match early. Suffocating defense in the second half shut down the Menehunes' offense. Punahou outshot Moanalua 11-3.

The early cushion enabled Punahou defenders to take care of the game from the ground and keep the pressure off their young keeper.

Schoen scored her second goal of the tournament in the 10th minute of the game. The sophomore midfielder burst into the air to meet a 30-yard free kick from junior Lizzy Carlson. Schoen tapped the 5-yarder into the right side of the goal.

"Everyone did so well," Schoen said. "We were just all playing so hard for each other. I'm just really proud of everyone.

"We had a free kick. Lizzy just played this awesome ball. I just came in and headed it."

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DENNIS ODA / DODA@STARBULLETIN.COM Punahou's Marisa Schoen celebrated after scoring a goal.

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Look's header came off a throw-in from Ashley Collins. The senior midfielder's goal settled into the middle of the net in the 25th minute of the game.

"We played a great second half," Menehunes coach Nikki Dela Pena said. "We were just slow in the first half.

"(Punahou) is always on the ball. Their girls were so crisp and clean."

The Menehunes weren't at full strength last night. Moanalua started junior goalkeeper Brooke Schreiner for senior Amanda Fukushima, who suffered a shoulder injury in Moanalua's semifinal win on Friday.

For the Menehunes (10-3-4), yesterday's loss will sting, but Moanalua can take consolation in the fact that it went deep into the postseason with a roster of mostly underclassmen.

So too did Punahou, which has a realistic shot at four consecutive championships with the majority of its roster returning.

Aiea 0, Mililani 0

In an anti-climactic match for third place, Na Alii (13-2-2) and the Trojans (12-1-3) battled to a scoreless tie. Due to time restraints, the game did not end with penalty kicks.

Mililani had 13 shots on goal and Aiea had 11 shots on goal but neither team was able to put one in the goal.

Senior Ashley Nakamoto had three saves for Mililani, while her counterpart Shareyn Muneoka had five saves.

Notes: The start of the championship was delayed 5 minutes for the television broadcast.

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HHSAA girls soccer

At Waipio Peninsula Soccer Park
Seeds: 1. Punahou. 2. Aiea. 3. Baldwin. 4. Hilo.

wednesday
Game 1: Pearl City 6, Kapaa 2
Ê2: Mililani 2, King Kekaulike 0
Ê3: Konawaena 2, Kailua 1, PK
Ê4: Moanalua 3, Kealakehe 2, OT

thursday
Ê5: King Kekaulike 1, Kapaa 0
Ê6: Kealakehe 2, Kailua 1
Ê7: Moanalua 1, Baldwin 0
Ê8: Aiea 3, Konawaena 0
Ê9: Mililani 3, Hilo 0
10: Punahou 2, Pearl City 0

friday
11: Pearl City 3, Hilo 1
12: Baldwin 3, Konawaena 2
13: Moanalua 2, Aiea 0
14: Punahou 1, Mililani 0

yesterday
15 Seventh place: King Kekaulike 2, Kealakehe, 1
16 Fifth place: Pearl City 2, Baldwin 1
17 Third place: Aiea 0, Mililani 0
18 Championship: Punahou 2, Moanalua 0

All-tournament team

GK	Ciana Aiwohi	Punahou
Def	Kelsey Baker	Punahou
Def	Aysha Abut	Moanalua
Def	Sophie Merrifield	Punahou
MF	Lizzy Carlson	Punahou
MF	Maris Van Der Lee	Baldwin
MF	Marisa Schoen	Punahou
F	Tobi Kanehira	Aiea
F	Chelsea Arakawa	Pearl City
F	Kelsie Look	Punahou
F	Sarah Yoro	Mililani

Most Outstanding Player: Kelsey Baker, Punahou