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Late penalty kick gives Na Alii 1-1 draw with Warriors

Kamehameha Maui closes in on 2nd MIL title in a row

By Robert Collias 5 min read

PUKALANI -- The Kamehameha Schools Maui girls soccer team had not won a Maui Interscholastic League Division I crown in nine years when the Warriors claimed the championship last year.

Now, after their hard-fought 1-1 draw with King Kekaulike on Wednesday at Kanaiaupuni Stadium, the Warriors are on the verge of winning back-to-back MIL crowns for the first time since they did so in 2013 and 2014.

Kamehameha Maui is 8-0-2, good for 26 points in the standings, with two matches to play.

Baldwin (7-0-3, 21 points) will be the other MIL D-I state tournament team after the Bears beat Lahainaluna 10-0 on Wednesday -- it will be the first time the Bears have been to state since 2017, the same year King Kekaulike (5-3-3) last missed the state tournament.

Kamehameha Maui and Baldwin face off on Saturday at War Memorial Stadium -- a Bears win would close the gap in the standing to two points with one match for each team to play. Kamehameha Maui finishes with Lahainaluna (0-9-0) next Wednesday and Baldwin finishes with Maui High (2-7-1) on Jan. 20.

"I'm extremely grateful that we have the teams on Maui that fight to the end," Kamehameha Maui coach Eli Joaquin said. "My hats off to (King Kekaulike) Coach Gundi (Dancil) -- I'm going to say it again, what a system there, four, five years in a row. I was part of the (King Kekaulike) staff last year and I'm just proud to be able to contend with teams like that."

In the first half, Kamehameha Maui freshman forward Kulia Kapuaala got control of the ball on the left side of the penalty box -- she scored the first goal after a pretty pivot with the ball and then beat King Kekaulike goalkeeper Mahealani Arakawa in the 28th minute.

In the 78th minute, King Kekaulike freshman Kiryn Hashimoto was fouled in the penalty box and Kaelynn Andrade buried the penalty kick to tie the match.

One minute before that, Ellie Kapuaala, a University of Nevada-Las Vegas signee, smoked a shot off the right post and in the waning seconds, she glanced the ball off the crossbar on a free kick.

The Warriors had several other scoring chances in the second half. Ellie Kapuaala fired a shot on the run from about 30 yards out that Arakawa stopped in the 56th minute. Hokuala English had a shot on goal in the 59th minute and Kalia Lanoza rocketed a shot from 35 yards out over the crossbar in the 60th minute.

"It's not about a win or lose, it's one game at a time, we go back to work tomorrow and just keep working hard," Joaquin said. "I just want the state to know that there's a lot of good soccer on Maui and that we're just working hard at it every day."

With the tie and Baldwin's win Wednesday -- and the Bears' 2-1 record against Na Alii this season -- King Kekaulike saw its string of five straight state tournament berths come to an end.

Dancil said his team is young but has not stopped playing hard and learning all season.

"That was a battle, we wish it was a little more than that, but hats off to Kamehameha Maui, they pressed hard," Dancil said. "They came tonight to play and we're just glad that we have a lot of them back because we have a young squad."

Dancil was proud of his youthful team.

"I think game to game, although we did have some setbacks for some players, we had a lot of injuries this year, but with that the young ladies had to step up -- and they did," Dancil said.

* Robert Collias is at rcollias@mauinews.com.

WEDNESDAY’S OTHER RESULTS

GIRLS

• BALDWIN 10, LAHAINALUNA 0

Maui High 4, Seabury Hall 2 (exhibition)

Goals scorers--Baldwin: Jada Smith 3 (39', 41', 53'), Zoee Toda 2 (24', 38'), Sydney Lee Anduha (3'), Sammy Citrawireja (12'), Bree Toma (27'), Aatiyana Racadio Kahoohanohano (47'), Lahela Painter (63'). Maui High: Lindsey Kong, Peyton Tokishi, Sasha Wood, Nanea Pikini. Seabury Hall: Scorers not reported.

BOYS

• BALDWIN 4, LAHAINALUNA 0

King Kekaulike 3, Kamehameha Maui 1

Goal scorers--Baldwin: Keoni Perez Martin 2, Jonathan Acosta, Vincent Moore. King Kekaulike, Kamehameha Maui: Scorers not reported.

MIL SOCCER STANDINGS

GIRLS

DIVISION I

W L T Pts

x-Kamehameha Maui 8 0 2 26

x-Baldwin 7 3 0 21

King Kekaulike 5 3 3 18

Maui High 2 7 1 7

Lahainaluna 0 9 0 0

DIVISION I

W L T Pts

Seabury Hall 2 0 0 6

Molokai 0 2 0 0

x-clinched state tournament spot

Wednesday's Results

Baldwin 10, Lahainaluna 0

King Kekaulike 1, Kamehameha Maui 1, tie

Maui High 4, Seabury Hall 2 (exhibition)

Friday's Matches

Seabury Hall at Molokai, 4 p.m.

Maui High at Lahainaluna, 5 p.m.

Saturday's Matches

Seabury Hall at Molokai, 9 a.m.

Baldwin vs. Kamehameha Maui at War Memorial Stadium, 5 p.m.

BOYS

DIVISION I

W L T Pts

Baldwin 7 0 1 22

King Kekaulike 6 1 1 19

Kamehameha Maui 4 4 0 12

Lahainaluna 1 6 1 4

Maui High 0 7 1 1

DIVISION I

W L T Pts

Seabury Hall 3 0 0 9

Kihei Charter 1 1 1 4

Molokai 0 3 1 1

Wednesday's Results

Baldwin 4, Lahainaluna 0

King Kekaulike 3, Kamehameha Maui 1

Friday's Match

Maui High at Lahainaluna, 7 p.m.

Saturday's Matches

Kihei Charter at Seabury Hall, 10 a.m.

Baldwin vs. Kamehameha Maui at War Memorial Stadium, 7 p.m.

Starting at /week.