Last season, Kamehameha midfielder Mari Punzal was forced to sit most of the season and watch her teammates while she nursed a knee injury.

This season, the senior more than made up for it, leading the Warriors to a second straight state title and earning The Advertiser State Player of the Year honors.

"I've never met a player like Mari," Kamehameha coach Michele Nagamine said. "She had the uncanny ability to make everyone around her smile."

Punzal is joined on the first team by teammates Jenny Eugenio, Meleana Shim, Kylee Ann Ah Choy and Kanani Taaca. Nagamine was named Coach of the Year after the Warriors went the entire season (including the preseason) without dropping a game.

"Her athleticism is the No. 1 thing she has going for her," Nagamine said of Punzal. "She's so fluid and flexible. It's so amazing to me because she has so much power and determination it becomes intimidating to those around her."

Punzal, who scored the eventual game-winner in the championship game against Kapolei, stood out on a team of great soccer players, evident by the four other All-State first-team Warriors on the squad.

"She's a good all-around player with a great sense of the field," Pearl City coach Frank Baumholtz said. "She was flowing out there and it makes it difficult to stop her."

Eugenio leads a quartet of first-team forwards in Kalani sophomore Tani Costa, Pearl City junior Meghan Fuller and 'Iolani senior Jesi Sasaki.

Eugenio, owner of a powerful foot that booted a 30-yard blast to lift Kamehameha to a 1-0 win over Pearl City in the semifinals, "seemed to give her team a boost when she played," Kapolei coach Brian Beck said. "The production up top when she was in there was better."

Costa, a fast and physical presence, was the OIA East Player of the Year after scoring a division-high 12 goals. "She's a go-to person," Beck said. "She's that one-touch, two-touch player who can rocket it."

Fuller led the OIA with 19 goals in the regular season and added four more in the postseason. The goal-scorer is "total fire," Baumholtz said. "She is so driven to score that she was where the ball was most of the time. When you're near the ball and take the shot, good things happen."

Sasaki scored six goals in the highly competitive ILH. "She smoked us (in the preseason)," Beck said. "She's really solid. She handles and controls the ball, and she makes great decisions."

First-team midfielders are Kamehameha's Punzal and Shim and Mililani seniors Natalie Wong and Stephanie Yoro.

Shim's smooth soccer ability draws the envy of Nagamine, who played at Santa Clara.

"I think 'Man, if I could have moved like that, I would have been on the national team,' " Nagamine said.

"She's a great all-around player," Baumholtz said. "She's where the ball is. She's the kind of kid you'd want to have on your team. She makes things happen."

Wong and Yoro, the co-OIA Western Division Players of the Year, are repeat first-teamers along with Shim.

"They were the bruiser sisters, they set the tone and pace for Mililani," Nagamine said.

Wong "has really blossomed into such a good player," Nagamine said. "She has a lot of power and strength. People try to power her off the ball and she just holds her own."

Yoro was a "solid presence in the middle for Mililani," Beck said. Yoro scored a team-high 13 goals.

"It's hard to find the player who is as dominant as she is in the air and be able to hold on to the ball," Nagamine said. "If you're stupid enough to leave her alone, she's going to punish you."

Kamehameha's Ah Choy, Kapolei junior Chaney Lopez and Mililani senior Jasmine Pratt are the first-team defenders.

Ah Choy, a repeat first-team selection, was the central defender in a defense that allowed six goals in 13 regular and postseason games.

"People don't get by her," Baumholtz said. "She's patient and she knows when to tackle."

Lopez, a versatile and crafty presence in the back for the Hurricanes, often sparked the attack, bringing the ball up the field with an array of quick moves.

"There is nobody more calm than Chaney," Beck said. "I didn't see another player who had the same composure that she did."

Pratt, another first-team repeat, "is a real solid player," Baumholtz said. "She had such great support around her that it has allowed her to be physically aggressive."

Taaca, the Most Outstanding Player of the state tournament, made one stop in penalty kicks in a quarterfinal win against Miliani and stopped a Pearl City penalty kick in the semifinals to preserve a 1-0 lead.

"She has an easy job, really, because of the great people in front of her," Baumholtz said. "But she was focused, because when she was called upon to do things, she got them done."

Reach Leila Wai at lwai@honoluluadvertiser.com.