When a professional golfer has an unspectacular day, with mostly pars, maybe a birdie or two and a bogey or two, writers can be quick to call it a “ho-hum” round.
Those words are perfect for Tuesday’s ILH girls soccer championship match. Kamehameha won the title after a scoreless regulation and overtime by outshooting ‘Iolani 2-1 on penalty kicks.
Even the PKs were lackluster. Of nine shots, only three went in the goal. Three were saved and three went wide.
Chaylea Tome, the Warriors’ goalkeeper, was the biggest standout, making two PK stops, including one by diving. That save, on the Raiders’ Taylor Arakaki, clinched the victory, preserving the 2-1 PK edge.
The reality of it all is that neither team had much left in the tank after playing four matches in seven days, including one against each other on Saturday (won by Kamehameha 3-2 in OT for the league’s second-round — tournament — title).
The victory by the Warriors (11-2) on Tuesday sets them up nicely for next week’s Division I state tournament, where they will be seeded and get a first-round bye. Kamehameha, which now has two ILH titles in a row, will be going for its first state crown since 2014.
“I definitely think we have a chance, especially after how we ended last year (a loss in the quarterfinals to Pearl City),” Tome said. “That fueled us.”
‘Iolani (9-3-1) will be unseeded at states for the third year in a row. That didn’t hurt the Raiders the last two years, when they went on to win state championships. ‘Iolani hasn’t won a league title since 2016.
“We’ll be playing a Monday game (next week) and I don’t think that’s a bad thing,” Raiders coach Kristin Masunaga said, referring to the fact that it will keep her girls in match mode and ready to go for the Thursday quarterfinals if they make it that far.
As for the ILH championship, Kamehameha is still happy to have come out on top.
“Playing back to back (vs. Punahou on Friday and ‘Iolani on Saturday), took a toll on us,” Tome said. “We made sure to get the right nutrition and prepare mentally and physically. We were still tired, but I thought we pushed through and did what needed to be done. I have total belief in my teammates and that we can do everything we set our minds to. For states, we have to stay close with one another and play as a unit.”
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