Tribune-Herald
Tribune-Herald
By Honokaa girls soccer standards, it’s been a down year. The Dragons, however, still will end the season where they always do: the state tournament.
Allie Shiraki secured the trip Thursday, scoring four goals to power the host Dragons to a 7-0 victory against East-Pac in the Big Island Interscholastic Federation Division II third-place game.
In ending a six-match winless streak, Honokaa (5-7-1) advanced to the Hawaii High School Athletic Association tournament for the eighth consecutive season. States will be held Feb. 5-8 on Oahu.
“That was definitely one of our goals,” coach Gerald Shiraki said. “The girls are pretty excited about it. It’s something they’ll remember for the rest of their lives. We’ll make it a good time.”
Nina Cardoza, Tia Agdeppa and Ashlynn Kaiamakini also scored for Honokaa.
Playing on her home pitch for the final time, Shiraki netted two goals in each half. In the first 40 minutes, the senior scored on a breakaway, and then she ran down Cardoza’s throughball, depositing it into the back of the net.
Hailey Paglinawan was credited with the shutout.
“Our defense did a really good job,” Gerald Shiraki said.
The BIIF’s fourth-place team was to have travelled to Kauai on Saturday for a state play-in game. However, citing costs, East-Pac (3-10) elected against making the trip.