Kahuku wins third
straight title

Kahuku dominated the Oahu Interscholastic Association regular season with a high-powered offense.

Yesterday, it was Kahuku's strong defensive effort that led the Red Raiders to a 6-2 victory over Roosevelt for their third straight OIA Championship before an afternoon crowd of 100 at Kaimuki High.

Lacy Luehrs made eight steals for the Red Raiders (12-1), who have won all three OIA titles.

"Lacy is definitely our primary defender," Kahuku coach Aukai Ferguson said. "She's got good size and speed and she's very aggressive. At the end of the game, I'm sure the opposing player will know she was guarded by Lacy."

"They did a great job on defense," Roosevelt coach Susan Nishioka said. "They were able to press our girls out and chew up the clock."

Luehrs and goalie Sara Mirels anchored a Kahuku defense that kept Roosevelt off-balance the entire game and stifled any hopes of a fourth-quarter rally by the Rough Riders.

Down 4-2 in the fourth, Roosevelt (11-2) missed three good looks at the goal, including one that bounced off the top of the goal post and another on a 6-on-5 play. Mirels had two saves during those 2 minutes.

Kahuku's Gina Ahue then caught Roosevelt's Naomi Mochizuki off-guard to score a goal with 1:39 remaining. Ahue then made two steals at mid-pool in the next 35 seconds, the latter of which led to a goal by Shannon Ching to seal the game with 53 seconds left.

"She doesn't look very threatening," Ferguson said of Ahue. "She put away the game-winner in my mind that really separated us from them late in the game."

"We played them earlier in the season, so I knew how their offense worked," Luehrs said. "The girls did a really good job -- a lot of steals and a lot of turnovers."

Roosevelt, which lost 10-2 in the team's last meeting in April, hung with the Red Raiders the entire game. Marissa Young scored less than a minute into the game to give the Rough Riders a 1-0 lead. After three straight goals by Kahuku, Lana Dang scored with 4:48 remaining in the second quarter to close the deficit to 3-2.

Mochizuki hounded Rebecca Fonoimoana, Kahuku's leading scorer, early in the game, limiting her touches.

"She got the best of me in the first quarter," Fonoimoana said.

Fonoimoana's second goal gave Kahuku a 4-2 lead early in the third quarter, giving the Red Raiders enough room to fend off a barrage of attempts by Roosevelt.

"I really wanted to step it up, focus and play better today," said Fonoimoana, who averaged 3.5 goals during the season but was held scoreless in Friday's semifinal win over Kalani.

"Coming back off of an untypical game for her, I thought she rebounded pretty well," Ferguson said. "Her scoring those two goals was critical. It put a lot of pressure on Roosevelt."

Luehrs said the close game is a good test heading into the state water polo tournament that starts Thursday at the Duke Kahanamoku Aquatic Complex. Kahuku averaged 15 goals during the regular season and at most allowed five goals to one opponent. The Red Raiders' only loss was a forfeit to Moanalua when their bus arrived late to the game.

"It's a little bit more nerve-racking and our girls seem to tense up under pressure," Luehrs said. "It's really good because the ILH teams are very tough and they run a whole different system. This is very good training for us, to practice an intensity game."

Kalani defeated Kapolei 9-6 in the third-place game. All four teams received berths into the state tournament.