Tribune-Herald
Tribune-Herald
Bri Vallente scored two goals and Jah’nae Ayoso-Purdy added a clutch goal in the 61st minute to lead third-seeded Hawaii Prep to a 3-2 win over second-seeded Kapaa in the HHSAA State Girls Division II Soccer Championships on Friday.
The 12-team event is being played concurrently with the 12-team Division I tournament at the Waipio Penisula Soccer Complex on Oahu.
Hawaii Prep, the Big Island Interscholastic Federation D-II champion, improved to 12-1-2 overall and will battle Mid-Pacific (6-7-1) out of the tough Interscholastic League of Honolulu in today’s 5 p.m. championship game on the soccer complex’s main field.The match will be televised live on OC16, followed by the D-I title match at 7 p.m.
Top-seeded Mid-Pacific edged Kauai 2-1 in Friday’s other semifinal match.
Hawaii Prep, under veteran coach Stephen Perry, is playing in its second straight state D-II final.
But the Ka Makani had to battle past a scrappy Kapaa squad on Friday to advance. Kapaa took a 1-0 lead on Kekai Gonsalves’ goal at the 14:09 mark before Vallente tied it at 1-1 with her first goal at 15:34.
Vallente then added her second goal at 54:31 to lift Hawaii Prep on top 2-1. Ayoso-Purdy scored at 61:42 to stretch the Ka Makani margin to 3-1 before Kapaa’s Casie Wilson scored in the 73rd minute to pull the Garden Isle team within a point.
Mid-Pacific then got goals from Taylor Higa (60:42) and AJ Johnson (74:06) to beat unseeded Kauai. Alyssa Vegas scored the Raiders goal at the 65:05 mark.
In D-II consolation action, Makua Lani edged Nanakuli 3-2 in penalty kicks. The Lions’ Keili Dorn (29:00) and Tiffany Nakamura (73:00) scored for the Big Island squad. Makua Lani then outshot Nanakuli 3-1 in penalty kicks. Names of the scorers were not reported.
Makua Lani (6-9) will play Radford for fifth place today. The Rams edged Leilehua 1-0 in their consolation match Friday.
In D-I consolation play Friday, Konawaena beat Moanalua 2-1 to advance to the fifth-place match against Kamehameha-Maui, a 1-0 winner over Kahuku on penalty kicks.
Kaulana Ruedy (48:00) and Pualani Ubando (80:00) scored for Konawaena. Aryana Cabudol (22:00) scored for the Menehunes.