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The Honolulu Advertiser
Posted on: Thursday, February 9, 2006

Iolani denies Kamehameha chance to repeat

Kamehameha vs. Iolani

By Leila Wai
Advertiser Staff Writer

Iolani goalkeeper Stephen Fung clutches the ball after making a save in the second half, helping the Raiders beat Kamehameha, 2-0.

JOAQUIN SIOPACK | The Honolulu Advertiser

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Iolani eliminated hopes of a repeat for 2005 boys state soccer champion Kamehameha, ending the Warriors' season with a 2-0 win yesterday at Iolani in the Interscholastic League of Honolulu finale.

Senior midfielder Dylan Langley and senior forward Mike Hirokawa scored as the Raiders (11-2-1) clinched second place and earned a state berth for the third straight year. Punahou (12-2-0) won the ILH with a 12-1 win over Damien yesterday for its first title since 2003 and also advanced to the state tournament. Kamehameha (11-3-0) finished in third.

After finishing the first round 4-2-1, the Raiders needed to complete the second round with no ties or losses to contend for one of the ILH's two state berths.

"In the first round, we had some unlucky bounces and close games that didn't go our way," Iolani coach Chris Lee said. "Today, they had to finish the deal we made, to go undefeated in the second round."

Langley scored in the 16th minute on a free kick by junior defender Danny Marks from near the right corner of the penalty box. Iolani senior midfielder Lee Anderson ran to the near right post and attempted to head the ball, drawing the Kamehameha goalkeeper to him. It left Langley an open net and he headed the ball in.

Hirokawa scored in the 67th minute when he chased down a throw-in from sophomore defender Hiroshi Metzker, drove to the goal and shot a low ball.

"I kind of backed up into him, he tried to step into me, and he was off-balance," Hirokawa said of the Kamehameha defender who tried to head the ball, but it glanced off his head and allowed Hirokawa to break through the defense.

"It was a pretty big goal. It let us play defense," Hirokawa said. "We couldn't let them score, because if we tied, we were out."

The last time the teams played, Iolani led 1-0 before Kamehameha scored two goals in five minutes to win. But Langley said: "After that second goal, I knew it was over."

The Raiders might have relaxed after going up 2-0 but Lee said he was still nervous because Kamehameha recently defeated Mid-Pacific after being down 2-0.

"I never count out a team like Kamehameha," Lee said.

Warriors coach Andrew Ah New said the Raiders won most free balls.

"They outplayed us in the first half, they won the 50/50 balls," Ah New said. "We thought we were a taller team and would win the air balls, but they beat us, even in the air."

OTHER SCORES

Punahou 12, Damien 1. Pun: Deryck Lim 3, Bennett Pang 2, Christopher Chang 2, Benjamin Strand 1, Nicholas Love 1, Troy Yasuda 1, Micah Keaney 1, Andrew Lam 1. Dam: Jaimie Benny.

Pac-Five 2, Hawai'i Baptist 0. Pac5: Shane Graf, Gabriel Fernandez.

Mid-Pacific 2, Saint Louis 2. MPI: Justin Akai, Dingo Domingo. SL: Kiyoshi Akasaki, Nick Botelho.

Reach Leila Wai at lwai@honoluluadvertiser.com.