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The Honolulu Advertiser
Posted on: Wednesday, January 9, 2008

Pearl City girls clinch OIA Red West title

Photo galleryPhoto gallery: Pearl City vs. Kapolei soccer

By Kalani Takase
Advertiser Staff Writer

Hawaii news photo - The Honolulu Advertiser

Pearl City's Amy Tanaka, center, celebrates with Tricia Miura after scoring against Kapolei.

Photos by ANDREW SHIMABUKU | The Honolulu Advertiser

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Hawaii news photo - The Honolulu Advertiser

Pearl City's Meghan Fuller pushes the ball up the field against Kapolei during the first half of the Chargers' 3-0 win over the Hurricanes. Pearl City heads into next week's OIA playoffs as the Red West champions.

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PEARL CITY — Amy Tanaka, Tricia Miura and Kaitlyn Holt scored goals for Pearl City to give the Chargers a 3-0 win over Kapolei at Bino Neves Stadium last night.

Pearl City (11-0-1) clinched its first O'ahu Interscholastic Association Red West title since 2005. The Chargers will be the West's top seed in next week's OIA playoffs. Kapolei (8-2-1), the defending OIA champion, will play Leilehua in its regular-season finale. A win against the Mules would give the Hurricanes the West's second seed and a first-round bye.

"This one is not really an important title," said Chargers' co-head coach Frank Baumholtz. "We want to get into the state tournament."

Still, Baumholtz was happy with his team's performance.

"What was important was for (us) to play as a team, which we've been doing better and better," he said. "They played really well, they passed to each other. Everybody was doing their own job and not worrying about somebody else's job and we got some opportunities and we capitalized on them."

Neither team really threatened until Tanaka, a fullback, booted a free kick from about 25 yards away over the head of the Kapolei goalkeeper in the 19th minute.

"We've been practicing free kicks all the time," said Tanaka, a senior. "I was just trying to cross the ball so they could head it in."

Pearl City took a 1-0 lead into halftime.

The Chargers took advantage of another golden opportunity in the 53rd minute. Miura, a senior forward, scored from about 30 yards out on another free kick that went over the outstretched hands of the Hurricanes' goalie.

"The ball had eyes," said Baumholtz. "We've been practicing that a lot and we've been missing by one foot, two feet, but today they were all going in."

Pearl City held Chelsie Swann, the league's top scorer with 15 goals, in check and neutralized Hurricanes' attackers Liana Gualdarama (nine goals) and Kristina Behrens (eight goals).

"We were trying to keep a defender on each of them and keep a defender open to cover, too," said Tanaka.

Holt added a goal in the 59th minute on a left-footed shot that found the top right corner of the goal.

The teams played to a scoreless tie earlier this season.

Reach Kalani Takase at ktakase@honoluluadvertiser.com.