The two girls state soccer powers took turns dominating each half of the game, demonstrating their speed and ability to pressure out the other team.

In a rematch of last year's state championship, the difference proved to be Punahou's early conversions against a "sleepy" Kamehameha team in a 2-0 Interscholastic League of Honolulu victory at Kunuiäkea Stadium yesterday afternoon.

"It's really nervewracking because we know they're a good team," said Punahou sophomore Lauren Stollar.

Punahou, the defending state champion, improved to 3-0-1. Kamehameha, which won state titles from 2006 to 2008, is 2-1-0.

"I think we played a very good game in the second half," Kamehameha coach Michele Nagamine said. "I think we put a lot of pressure on Punahou. The difference between our team and their team is that they converted the two opportunities they had and I just think we psyched ourselves out a little bit."

Punahou applied pressure and caught Kamehameha twice in the first half.

In the 13th minute, Karli Look's corner kick from the right dropped at Stollar in the middle of the 18-yard box. Stollar headed it in to give the Buffanblu a 1-0 lead.

"I was just trying to time it well and I was just ready for anything that was coming towards me," Stollar said.

Four minutes later, Allyson Holtz scored from the right of the box to push the lead to 2-0.

"I thought the first half, we were a little bit sleepy," Nagamine said. "They had two really nice finishes. The composure and the awareness in the 18-yard box was fantastic, in and around the 18-yard box."

Kamehameha pushed the tempo from the start of the second half. One minute in, the Warriors sent a corner kick in from the left that went over Punahou freshman goalkeeper Anu Kahele-Manners. The ball dropped in front of the goal before it was cleared by a Punahou player. A minute later, Tarra Gabriel's shot from the right went just wide and another minute later, Kahele-Manners stopped an attempt in the middle by the Warriors' Kristen Wong.

Kahele-Manners was tested throughout the second half, stopping everything that came at her, including several late in the game.

"There were better clears this game," Kahele-Manners said. "We've been working on our clearing. This game seemed to be a lot better."