KEAAU — It took a little while for Hawaii Prep’s offense to come alive, but its defense was sharp from start to finish against Kamehameha.
Behind three second-half goals, Ka Makani defeated the Warriors 4-0 in a BIIF Division II girls soccer game Saturday at Paiea Stadium.
Jenna Perry, Alianna West, Bella Police, and Emily Thompson scored for HPA (5-0).
Ka Makani goalie Maia Mills recorded the shutout against Kamehameha (2-1-2).
The worst nightmare for someone defending Kamehameha speedster Chenoa Frederick is getting into a track meet and chasing her from behind.
But that never happened because of the play of sophomore center fullback Ruby Helmuth, who played fast and physical defense against Frederick.
“I told Ruby that was the best high school game she played,” HPA coach Steve Perry said. “She’s got speed and understands positioning better.”
The Warriors were able to work the ball down the field but got stuck or lost the ball in the penalty box. They couldn’t slot any through-balls for Frederick to chase down.
When a pass found Frederick, Helmuth was there to kick the ball away. When Frederick ran down a sideline pass, Helmuth bumped her off the ball.
She played textbook goal-side defense, remaining between Frederick and the goal, shutting down her scoring opportunities before they could materialize.
When Frederick drifted to the right flank, junior Elizabeth Evans played tough defense on her, too.
Ka Makani took a 1-0 halftime lead after Jenna Perry took a corner kick, got the ball back on a pass from Angela Cipriano and kicked in a shot from 30 yards out.
Then HPA’s offense exploded in the second half.
“We played last 30 minutes really well,” Perry said. “We adjusted a little bit. They were on us for a while, and we lost our middle control, got it back and did good stuff. They have dangerous weapons, and we knew where they were and neutralized them for the most part.”
Perry pointed out that experience is a dangerous weapon as well.
“The girls have played a lot of soccer. They’ve got good knowledge between he ears and figured things out. We’ve got enough weapons and going forward if you give us enough opportunities eventually they’ll go in.”
In the second half, West got an assist from Malia Brost and blasted in a shot on the right flank from 20 yards out.
Kamehameha’s defense broke down to allow the last two goals.
Kahala Erskine dribbled down the right flank, crossed the ball to a wide-open Police, who easily slotted her shot for a 3-0 lead.
Then just 10 minutes later, Thompson stole the ball from a defender and had an easy score for the 4-0 final.
“We’ll eventually see them two more times, maybe three more times,” Perry said.