Punahou soccer girls edge Kamehameha
By Wes Nakama
Advertiser Staff Writer
The only thing more breathtaking than the panoramic view from the Kamehameha Schools' Kuniakea Stadium yesterday afternoon was Punahou sophomore Kelsie Look's 35-yard rainbow goal in the 54th minute.
At least if you are a Buffanblu fan.
Look's looping shot from outside the left corner of the penalty box was the game's only score in a victory over the Warriors, but it was enough to keep Punahou undefeated at 5-0 and in sole possession of first place in the Interscholastic League of Honolulu. It was the Buffanblu's second win of the season over Kamehameha (4-2), and the teams are not scheduled to meet again.
Punahou still must play Pac-Five (3-2) tomorrow and Saturday and Iolani (3-3) on Feb. 12, along with two other games.
"It's not over yet; we shouldn't let down," said Look, a halfback. "This feels good, but we still have five hard games left."
If those five are as tough as yesterday's struggle, the Buffanblu's road to the ILH title will not be smooth. Bodies were flying, and the game had to be stopped a few times for injuries.
Although the score was the same as the teams' season opener on Jan. 8, the game itself looked nothing like the first meeting.
"It seemed like they were more out to get us this time," Look said. "Not just to be more physical, but I think also because this is their own campus and they had that advantage, too."
A rough first half produced no goals, and it also produced a benching of Look by coach Jorge Barbosa.
"I told her we needed more muscle in there, so I took her out," Barbosa said. "Then when she went back in, she was so mad at me, she scored."
Look's goal came soon after Kamehameha had barely missed scoring off a loose ball in front of the net. Once the ball got cleared and pushed to Look, she was all by herself but still a good 35 yards from the goal on a tough angle.
"I saw where I was and I was like, 'Oh, I can do it,' " Look said. "At halftime, Coach told us to shoot early, because every time we waited or tried to get closer, we'd get nailed."
Look's shot took a trajectory like that of a line drive into an outfield power alley. It barely cleared the reach of Kamehameha's keeper and found the back right corner of the net.
The Warriors applied heavy pressure thereafter and had two golden scoring opportunities in the final 10 minutes, but were unable to break through.
"We kept creating chances, but we couldn't get it in," Kamehameha coach Michele Nagamine said. "Their keeper (Ali Lipsher) made some clutch saves. The conditions were tough — the ball was slippery — and against another keeper, some of those shots we had would have been goals."
Yesterday's Other Results
Mid-Pacific 1, St. Francis 0. MPI—Stefanie Kawatomari.
Pac-Five 3, Iolani 0. P5—Britta Borne 2, Kristin Chung 1.
SOFTBALL
• SACRED HEARTS 14, LA PIETRA 4: Kimi Daniels batted 4-for-4, including a home run, and Sydney Kaneshiro went 3-for-4 with a double and a triple as Sacred Hearts rolled over La Pietra at Crane Park in an Interscholastic League of Honolulu game.
Sisters Catherine and Nicole Cazinha teamed on a two-hitter for the Lancers.
La Pietra (0-14) 300 100— 4 2 3
Sacred Hearts (5-9) 426 002—14 15 0
C. Miller and K. DeMello. Catherine Cazinha, Nicole Cazinha (4) and Kimi Daniels. W—C. Cazinha. L— Miller.
Leading hitters: Sacred Hearts—Allison Castellano 2-3, triple, 2 RBIs; Daniels 4-4, home run, 3 RBIs; Penny Chock 2-3, 1 RBI; Sydney Kaneshiro 3-4, double, triple.
• MID-PACIFIC 5, MARYKNOLL 3: Tori Sumi hit a two-run single in the bottom of the fourth to give the Owls a 5-1 lead.
Maryknoll (2-12) 100 002 0—3 5 2
Mid-Pacific (4-10) 300 200 x—5 3 1
Jade Kurihara and B. Preza-Haynes. Jana Ching and Torie Sumi. W—Ching. L—Kurihara.
Leading hitters: Maryknoll— J. Akamine double; C. Feliciano 2-3.
• RAINED OUT: Two ILH games were rained out yesterday: Punahou at Kamehameha — featuring the league's top two teams — and Hawai'i Baptist/St. Andrew's/St. Francis at Iolani.
There was no announcement on when the games will be played.
