Posted on: Wednesday, January 26, 2005
Kamehameha, Iolani boys play to 1-1 tie in ILH
| • | Kapolei takes lead in OIA West |
By Leila Wai
Advertiser Staff Writer
Iolani scored with three minutes remaining in the match to tie Kamehameha and retain a share of first place with the Warriors in the Interscholastic League of Honolulu boys soccer standings.
Kamehameha and Iolani tied, 1-1, yesterday at Kamehameha, and Punahou (9-2-1) defeated Hawai'i Baptist, 3-1, to join the Warriors (9-2-1) and Raiders (8-0-4) in first place in the ILH. All three teams have 28 points.
Pac-Five routed Damien, 10-0, yesterday and improved to 8-2-2 (26 points).
Teams receive three points for a win and one for a tie.
One week remains in league play, and the top two teams in the ILH receive berths into the state tournament, which is Feb. 9 to 12 at Kamehameha-Maui.
Kamehameha went up 1-0 when sophomore midfielder Kekoa Osorio scored in the 49th minute on a header off a throw-in by defender Peter Pang.
The ball bounced over the Iolani defense and into the middle of the 6-yard box, where Osorio was running.
"(The Iolani goalkeeper) had his hands up and I just headed it in," Osorio said.
Kamehameha's goal seemed inevitable, with the Warriors creating multiple opportunities and keeping Iolani's defense busy.
Iolani answered in the 77th minute on a header by junior midfielder Raymond Machi off a free kick by senior midfielder/ forward Pat Haines from just outside the right side of the penalty box.
Haines sent the ball into the box where Machi headed it in from about the middle of the 6-yard box.
"I just hid behind the defender and ran in; he didn't see me, I guess," Machi said. "There was a man on me, but I guess he thought the ball wasn't going to come to me so I ran into the open space.
"I've never made such a great goal in my life before."
Just as Kamehameha's chances of scoring seemed to increase with every opportunity it created in the first half and beginning of the second half, Iolani began answering back with its own dangerous chances.
With about 10 or 15 minutes remaining in the match, Iolani began putting the pressure on Kamehameha, creating more chances in the latter part of the match than in the previous 65 minutes.
"I don't know what changed," Lee said. "We tried different personnel and different combinations."
What eventually worked was when Lee put one more offensive player in the mix, forcing Kamehameha to drop one of its players into a more defensive role. The Warriors stopped putting pressure in Iolani's defensive third of the field, allowing the Raiders to send balls to their offense.
"Iolani added another offensive player, and it was a counter on us so we had to move one player back," Kamehameha coach Andrew Ah New said. "It came down to that free kick and they got it in there."
Reach Leila Wai at lwai@honoluluadvertiser.com or 535-2457.
Other Matches
Pac-Five 10, Damien 0. Pac-Five: Tom Culver 2, Jeremy Wittig 2, Jordan Ota 1, Reid Woodward 1, Ray Yamada 1, Christian Bradley 1, Eric Stinton 1, Eben Hellekson 1.
Punahou 3, Hawai'i Baptist 1. Pun: Kirkland Lozada, Nick Love, Jaymie Ayson. HBA: Joshua Aranyo.
Mid-Pacific 3, Saint Louis 2. MPI: David Young 2, Jared Yamauchi 1. St.L: Jeremy Shea, Derin O'Neal.
