Four O'ahu teams in soccer semifinals
By Brandon Masuoka
Advertiser Staff Writer
Led by senior captain Ricky Shinn, Pearl City edged previously undefeated Baldwin yesterday in the quarterfinals of the Meadow Gold Boys State Soccer Championships at Waipi'o Peninsula Soccer Park.
Jay Metzger • Special to the Advertiser
Shinn scored the go-ahead goal with 57 seconds remaining as the Chargers rallied past the third-seeded Bears, 4-3.
Referee Kaleo Benz tries to pick himself up after being shoved to the ground by a Baldwin player after the match against Pearl City. As a result, Baldwin elected to pull out of the tournament.
In other quarterfinals, Kamehameha upset fourth-seeded Hilo, 2-0, second-seeded Punahou beat Hawai'i Prep, 3-0, and two-time defending state champion Mililani defeated Kaua'i, 3-0.
Because of an on-field incident involving a player and referee, Baldwin forfeited today's game with Hawai'i Prep. The decision came from Baldwin athletic director Jon Garcia after Bears' senior defender-midfielder Ekolu Saffrey pushed referee Kaleo Benz to the ground immediately following the final whistle. Benz was not injured.
Baldwin coach Fred Guzman originally planned to suspend Saffrey, but after consulting with Garcia, decided to forfeit today's game, essentially dropping the Bears out of the rest of the tournament.
"I fully support Baldwin High School's decision to forfeit the next game," HHSAA Executive Director Keith Amemiya said. "The incident in question is very serious and can't be tolerated. Our officials are an essential part of the game and need to be treated with respect. They should never have their safety jeopardized."
Guzman said Saffrey was given a yellow card by Benz for arguing a call, but the coach said he doubted if that was what prompted Saffrey to push the referee. Saffrey did not want to comment.
"I'm mortified that happened," Guzman said. "If I would have been fast enough in my old age to run across the field and catch the young man, I would have done so. I think his teammates would have done as well. What he did was totally unacceptable."
As for the game, Shinn's goal came off a direct kick by senior defender Wesley Armacost. On the play, Armacost lofted a pass to a streaking Shinn, who headed the ball past the drawn-out Baldwin goalie.
"I guess we caught the defense off guard," said Shinn, who plays as a forward and a defender. "It was a quick play. It wasn't a designed play."
Shinn's goal won a game that featured exciting plays by Baldwin and a gutsy comeback by Pearl City.
"This team never gave up," Shinn said. "We were down the whole game and at halftime we said, 'We can do this. Don't give up.' It was a total team effort.
Eugene Tanner • The Honolulu Advertiser
"Baldwin played a hell of a game, too," Shinn said. "It's too bad somebody had to come out on top."
Pearl City's Michael Domingo, right, battled Baldwin's Keola Nobriga for control of the ball in yesterday's quarterfinal game.
Baldwin, the Maui Interscholastic League champion, dropped to 10-1. Pearl City, the OIA runner-up, improved to 11-2-1.
"We're very fortunate to come out of this game with a win," Pearl City coach Scott Keopuhiwa said. "Baldwin has some great players. But my guys dug down deep and did what it took to win tonight."
Baldwin outshot Pearl City, 17-8, but couldn't contain the opportunistic Chargers, who scored three second-half goals.
"I thought it was a marvelous game," Guzman said. "Coming into the contest we knew that Pearl City was very good on set plays. That's a tribute to the work they obviously put into that."
Sophomore midfielder Brady Nunes scored Baldwin's first goal at 17:48 when he dribbled free from a defender near the top of the goal box and launched a right-footed shot into the net.
Pearl City evened the score on penalty kick by junior striker Christopher Kaaukuu in the 37th minute. The Chargers were awarded the penalty kick when midfielder Keone Peiper was tackled by a Baldwin player in the penalty box.
With less than a minute left in the half, Baldwin senior midfielder Keola Nobriga scored off a creative play where he freed himself from three defenders with dribble fakes and a 360-degree spin before launching a hard shot from the top of the goal box.
In the second half, Pearl City tied the score at 2 off a header by Peiper at 47:55.
The Baldwin offense responded less than two minutes later when Pearl City failed to clear a ball off a corner kick at 49:27. Baldwin senior striker Michael Donahoo ended the play with his point-blank shot, giving the Bears a 3-2 lead.
But Pearl City stormed back behind Peiper's heady heroics. The junior scored his second head-shot goal at 64:20 for a 3-3 tie and set the stage for Shinn's goal.
• Kamehameha 2, Hilo 0: Junior midfielder Randall Haraguchi's second-half goal broke a scoreless tie and helped the Warriors upset the fourth-seeded Vikings.
Haraguchi surprised everyone in the stadium when his shot skipped between the legs of the Hilo goalie at 55:45.
"It was a low kick and kind of hard," Haraguchi said. "It went straight to the keeper. I thought he was going to get it. It was lucky."
Senior forward Kekoa Smith scored the Warriors' second goal when he headed the ball off a corner kick at 73:05.
Kamehameha, the Interscholastic League of Honolulu's third-place team, improved to 11-4-1. Hilo, the Big Island Interscholastic Federation champ, fell to 15-2.
"This team is funny, once we score, that's all we need," Kamehameha coach Andrew Ah New said. "Actually (Haraguchi's goal) was a lucky shot, but I'm glad he took the shot."
• Punahou 3, Hawai'i Prep 0: Stephen Carlson, Kevin Lenahan and Christopher Rania each scored a goal as the second-seeded Buffanblu sprinted past Ka Makani.
"It was a good shutout," Punahou senior goalie David Semenza said. "It was a good way to start the tournament."
Punahou's first goal came off a corner kick at 4:12. Junior forward Carlson slipped between several defenders and deflected the short corner kick into the net.
Senior midfielder Lenahan scored in the second half at 44:15 when he snagged a loose ball and blasted a shot that sailed between the hands of the Hawai'i Prep goalie.
Senior midfielder Rania found the net to give the Buffanblu a 3-0 lead at 57:26.
Hawai'i Prep junior forward Trel Mangarin suffered a left calf bruise with less than two minutes left and was helped off the field. His status is questionable for today's game.
The Buffanblu, the ILH champions, improved to 13-0-2. Ka Makani, the BIIF second-place team, dropped to 15-3.
• Mililani 3, Kaua'i 0: Justin Kim scored two goals and Whitney Shimatsu scored one as the two-time defending state champion Trojans defeated the Red Raiders.
"We got off to a bad start, we weren't moving the ball around, but we got it together in the second half," Kim said. "We should have put a lot more balls in."
Shimatsu scored Mililani's first goal at 5:45. The senior forward raced past several defenders on the dribble, avoided a sliding goalie and bounced the ball into the net.
Junior midfielder Kim scored at 50:10 off a feed from junior midfielder Brent Murakami.
Kim added another goal at 67:18 when his shot deflected off a defender and bounced into the net. Nathan Amous provided the give-and-go pass to Kim.
Mililani, the OIA champion and two-time defending state champion, improved to 12-0-1. Kaua'i, the Kaua'i Interscholastic Federation champ, dropped to 8-2.
CONSOLATION
• Moanalua 1, Roosevelt 0: Senior fullback Nick Dang scored at the 21st minute and the Menehunes' defense shut out the Rough Riders.
Moanalua, the O'ahu Interscholastic Association's fifth-place team, improved to 11-4-1. Roosevelt, the OIA's fourth-place team, fell to 8-7-1 and was eliminated from the tournament.
• Honoka'a 3, Castle 2: Senior forward Kaaina Bowman scored two goals and junior midfielder Max Bowman scored one to lead the Dragons over the Knights.
Sophomore striker Kory Muraoka scored two goals, one in each half, for the Knights.
The Dragons, the BIIF's third-place team, improved to 11-6. The Knights, the OIA's third-place team, fell to 9-4-2.
Meadow Gold State Soccer Championships
At Waipi'o Peninsula Soccer Complex
Wednesday's results
First Round
Kamehameha 5, Roosevelt 0
Kaua'i 3, Moanalua 2
Hawai'i Prep 3, Castle, 1
Pearl City 3, Honoka'a, 0
Yesterday's results
Consolation games
Moanalua 1, Roosevelt 0
Honoka'a, 3, Castle 2
Quarterfinals
Kamehameha 2, Hilo 0
Punahou 3, Hawai'i Prep 0
Pearl City 4, Baldwin 3
Mililani 3, Kaua'i 0
Today's games
Consolation games
Hilo (15-2) vs. Kaua'i (8-2), 2 p.m. on Field 7.
Hawai'i Prep (16-3) def. Baldwin (10-2), by forfeit.
Semifinals
(These games will be played in the stadium)
Punahou (13-0-2) vs. Pearl City (11-2-1), 6 p.m.
Kamehameha (11-4-1) vs.Mililani (12-0-1), 8 p.m.
Tomorrow's games
Seventh place
Moanalua (11-4-1) vs. Honoka'a (11-6), 2 p.m. on Field 7.
Fifth place
Hilo-Kaua'i winner vs. Hawai'i Prep, 4 p.m. on Field 8.
(These games will be played in the stadium)
Third place
Semifinal losers, 6 p.m.
Championship
Semifinal winners, 8 p.m.
