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Kekaulike, Kamehameha fit to be tied in 2-2 draw

King Kekaulike High School’s Taite Taniguchi (from left) is defended in the first half by Kamehameha Maui’s Kailea Tuitele and Maile Kehano. The teams battled to a 2-2 draw on Saturday night. The Maui News / MATTHEW THAYER photos

PUKALANI — It is quite apparent that the 2022-23 Maui Interscholastic League Division I girls soccer race is going to be intriguing.

The three teams that routinely fight for the MIL’s two state berths — Baldwin High School, Kamehameha Maui and King Kekaulike — have already mixed it up in some dogfights in the opening week of play.

The latest wild match was the 2-2 tie between the Warriors and Na Alii on Saturday at King Kekaulike Stadium. The Bears, who opened with a 4-3 win over King Kekaulike on Wednesday, beat Lahainaluna 8-0 on Saturday.

The results left the four-time defending champion Na Alii at 0-1-1 in league play and trailing the Bears (2-0-0) and Warriors (1-0-1). Baldwin dealt Na Alii their first loss in MIL play since 2019 in the opener.

Kamehameha Maui trailed King Kekaulike 2-0 at halftime on Saturday, but rallied back to claim a point in the standings.

King Kekaulike goalkeeper Pua Farm clears a first-half corner kick Saturday night against Kamehameha Maui.

“Definitely, it’s a team effort,” Kamehameha Maui assistant coach Cody Felipe said. “We put it on the girls, we told them, ‘Hey, it’s all what you want out of this, so fight for it.’ That’s all we ask from them.”

The Warriors drew within 2-1 in the 49th minute on a 32-yard free kick by Ellie Kapuaala — the rocket launched off her foot gave goalkeeper Pua Farm no chance to save it as it landed in the upper right-hand corner of the net.

“The strike from Ellie, couldn’t get any better than that,” Felipe said. “That was the goal we needed to get us to the second one.”

Kapuaala just missed tying the match on a similar free kick, from 28 yards, in the 58th minute. A Tori Zackious attack following a long run was  snuffed out by Kamehameha Maui goalkeeper La Hikina Artates in the 60th minute. 

Kamehameha Maui’s Kailea Tuitele tied the match off an assist from Sienna Kamalani In the 67th minute.

“When were down 2-0 in the first half, we knew what the work ethic had to be to get the tie or go for the win,” Felipe said. “The girls realized that and they came out to play (in the second half). Any team that is down will be the one to bring the energy, they have to because they want to win.”

Na Alii took the lead on a penalty kick by Taite Taniguchi in the second minute. They pushed the lead to 2-0 in the 19th minute when Zackious finished a long run after a beautiful long pass over the defense from Soana Akinaka–prior to the pass, Akinana flicked the ball to herself, over a defender’s outstretched foot.

With three rounds of play, up from two rounds, new this season in the MIL D-I girls ranks, there are several more key matches on the slate, but there was clearly some frustration from the King Kekaulike players and coaches.

It will be a battle throughout the season from the top three teams with an impressive Baldwin group joining the mix. 

Baldwin got two goals from Sienna Fernandez, and one apiece from Syndeylee Anduha, Aaliyah Racadio-Kahoohanohano, Kena Tihada, Olivia Ellis, Sammi Kinoshita and Shay Okita against the Lunas.

“We knew it was going to be that way, from last year’s squads from all three teams,” King Kekaulike coach Gundi Dancil said. “Right now you can see the build up of the competition. You know, we’ll work and be ready for the games.”

Dancil is confident his team will bounce back. Na Alii won the title at the Hawaii Prep tournament on the Big Island over Thanksgiving weekend.

“I think we will (bounce back) because we did play a lot of girls,” Dancil said. “So, people might think that we’re not staying with our strong starters, but we’re building up the team and that’s what we need to do early on.”

* Robert Collias is at rcollias@mauinews.com.

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