Hilo High, Waiakea High and Hawaii Prep’s girls soccer teams downed their opponents during Monday’s BIIF Div.-I and Div.-II semifinals, setting the stage for today’s championships, which will be played at WHS’ Ken Yamase Memorial Stadium.
No. 1 Waiakea (11-1-0) and No. 2 Hilo (10-1-1) will clash for the third time in two weeks, as the isle’s powerhouses settle the neck-and-neck rivalry that has defined the month.
The Vikings and Warriors are 1-1 against each other this season, with Hilo defeating Waiakea 2-0 on Jan. 12 and Waiakea beating Hilo 3-1 last week. The Warriors will look to defend their BIIF DI title on their home turf and go for a three-peat in their third straight BIIF championship matchup against the Vikings.
No. 2 HPA (6-3-0) will take on No. 1 Kamehameha Schools – Hawai‘i (4-1-3) for the BIIF DII title, concluding another hotly contested rivalry.
Ka Makani and the Warriors clashed once this season, which ended in a 1-0 KSH victory. The Warriors narrowly snagged the top seed, ending the season 4-1-3 while HPA was 5-3-0.
KSH and HPA’s championship match will kick off at 1 p.m. at WHS — Hilo and Waiakea’s will follow.
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DI: HILO 4 – KONAWAENA 0
The Vikings handled business, dominating No. 3 seed Konawaena High 4-0 to secure their championship berth and rematch against Waiakea.
“I think we’re bouncing back from Friday’s (loss to Waiakea),” Hilo head coach Kari Hock said. “(Monday) was senior night, so it was a great celebration of letting all the seniors play — we have nine seniors. We just had our last practice (Tuesday afternoon) and we’re feeling great.”
After last Friday’s loss, Hock attributed her team’s shortcomings to a lack of mental preparedness. There will be no room for error in the championship, and Hock is readying her players for that.
“We talked about how when we get down a goal, we should just shake it off and get to the ball first,” she said. “We need to get back to playing our game instead of getting rattled. We were giving up before the whistle was blown.
“I think we’re all feeling good about (the championship), and we’re working really well as a team. We know we can do this.”
Kryslynn Nabarro took part in all four of Monday’s goals, notching a hat trick and assisting La‘aulu Kalauoka‘ae‘a-Kahele on a 25-yard goal.
Nabarro is Hilo’s top scorer with 15 goals on the season, including two hat tricks — a very rare accomplishment for a first-time forward like her.
Last year, Nabarro was a defender and totalled two goals. Early this season, Hock decided to bring her to the front — a decision that paid off amazingly.
“(Nabarro) plays with her heart,” Hock said. “She loves this team so much, and she’s been a great leader. It’s been incredible.”
Hilo Teyahlia Kepoo-DeConte was credited for Monday’s shutout, her tenth of the season as she has only surrendered four goals.
“(Kepoo-DeConte) is our quiet leader in the back,” Hock said. “She’s steady. During the Waiakea game last week she got a bit rattled, but she’s just as mentally strong as Kryslynn up front. They both kind of are our two boundaries on both sides of the field, and I also have (Leililian Solomon Hoopai) in the middle who’s the other heart of the team.”
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DI: WAIAKEA 5 – KEALAKEHE 1
Kau‘ionalani Mahi-Murray notched her third hat trick on the season as Waiakea trampled No. 4 Kealakehe on Monday at home.
The Warriors’ other two goals came by way of Gabriella Tuson and Kira Kurimoto. Naia Garana scored the Waveriders’ lone goal.
“It was another team effort,” Waiakea head coach Steve Petner said. “Everybody pitched in.”
Mahi-Murray reached 22 goals on the season, scoring a high of four goals during a late December outing against Kealakehe.
“She’s just a hard worker,” Petner said. “Those numbers are the result of the hard work she’s put in. All year round, not just during the high school soccer season. She’s a full-time soccer player, and plays at the club level.
“She has an unbelievable work ethic, and it’s great to see her get those kind of results. But, shed be the first one to say that ‘nobody scores goals by themselves.’”
Waiakea will host its second straight postseason game today, in what is set to be an explosive showdown. However, the Warriors are trying not to let the home field factor get to their heads.
“We can’t so much think it out,” Petner said. “No matter where we’re playing, we gotta play like we train and that’s what we have to do. It is nice to play on our field, but it was also nice playing on (UH-Hilo’s) field last Friday. You still gotta play the game on any field — home, neutral, away — we know anything can happen on any given day — so you gotta be ready.”
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DII: HPA 4 – HONOKA‘A 1
No. 2 HPA and No. 3 Honoka‘a clashed for the second time in three days, resulting in another Ka Makani victory, 4-1.
The Dragons fell 6-0 to HPA during a match on Friday (Jan. 19).
HPA’s goals were scored by Nina Cipriano, Kylena Park-Vares, Madie Buczyna and Tae Detwiler. The name of Honoka‘a’s lone scorer was not submitted to West Hawaii Today or the Hawaii Tribune-Herald by Tuesday, Jan. 23.
HPA and KSH are now, finally set for a rematch. The pair hasn’t shared a pitch since Dec. 1, when the Warriors came away with the narrow victory.
Since then, Ka Makani has dismantled most of its competition, notching four shutouts — but also suffering two routs — an 8-0 loss to Hilo and a 7-0 loss to Waiakea.
KSH has less wins than HPA and three ties, but had greater success against Hilo and Waiakea. The Warriors tied 1-1 with Hilo in December and suffered their first loss of the season to Waiakea by just 2-1.
HPA and KSH’s playoff rivalry is possibly the most storied in recent years. This will be the pair’s third straight BIIF DII championship matchup since the end of the pandemic, and sixth since 2016. In 2018, the Warriors and Ka Makani faced off in the DII state championship, which HPA won 3-2.
This season, KSH is led by a balanced offense. Rhacelyn Respicio leads with seven goals — but close behind are Madisyn Meyers (six goals), Rebekah Sipinga (five) and Teijia Moses (four).
HPA’s Madie Buczyna leads BIIF DII with nine goals this season.
