WAIPAHU, Hawaii — Disappointment, frustration, shock, anger, sadness: There was a purpose in all of it for the Punahou girls soccer team.
The Buffanblu channeled raw emotion into results when it mattered most Saturday night as they came away with a 3-0 win over chief rival and three-time defending champion Kamehameha in the Motiv8 Foundation/HHSAA Division I championship game at Waipahu High School.
Earlier at the improvised site – the championships were moved from Waipio Peninsula Soccer Park that morning because of heavy rain – Pac-Five topped Kapaa 1-0 in Division II, making it back-to-back titles for the Wolfpack.
It was Punahou’s 12th title overall, one more than Kamehameha all-time, but first since the Buffanblu three-peated from 2009 to 2011.
Punahou lost the 2022 state final to Kamehameha in traumatic fashion, missing a penalty kick late in regular time and falling on PKs after overtime could not decide a winner.
What followed this year were two hard-earned draws and a 2-0 loss to the Warriors in the ILH championship game on Jan. 26.
“You can take something positive out of every situation. Even heartbreak,” sixth-year Buffanblu coach Shelley Izuno said.
“It’s been a hard year, and honestly I felt it today,” a misty-eyed Izuno added. “And we all have. Just having that fire for the 17 returnees, to come back to this game and know we were going to leave with the result we wanted.”
For a while, the teams appeared evenly matched once again.
In the 26th minute, forward Xevani Salanoa changed the narrative. She recovered from a stumble, beat a defender to the ball and cranked a right-to-left bender from the right wing that eluded the fingers of Warriors goalkeeper Marley Roe. It hit the bottom of the crossbar and caromed straight down and in.
“Last year, it was kind of a rough time for us,” said the senior Salanoa, one of three sisters on the roster along with goalkeeper Xeyana and forward Xehlia. “We honestly thought we had it in our bag with that last PK before the regular time had run out. Knowing what we could’ve had last year put that fire under our butt this year. We had that mentality this whole season to come back and dominate, and we did just that tonight.”
Punahou acknowledged that Kamehameha had a mental edge on them as a stronger second-half team in past matchups. Players resolved it wouldn’t be the case this time.
The Buffanblu’s offensive connection seemed to improve by the minute, resulting in goals barely a minute apart from Carly Ann Cormack and Ellie Gusman in the 60th and 62nd minutes, both on well-struck balls from the left side of the box to the right post where Roe didn’t have a chance.
Cormack, who dribbled through the Kamehameha back line, did it with her injured left foot.
“I think maybe it was the nerves,” Cormack said of her team’s past shortcomings. “When we got scored on, I think we were a bit down, but we were able to come together and talk about our goals and work towards the end. You could tell we had heart.”
In the waning minutes and with the outcome decided, Xevani Salanoa and Kamehameha’s Saraya Burghardt briefly clashed, lashing out at each other while going for a ball. They were separated and play resumed. A few moments later, the teams shook hands.
As Punahou players screamed in jubilation while hoisting the trophy, Kamehameha coach Missy Moore was able to put in perspective that her teams have been on the other side of such a result several times and that it was important to lose with class.
“They finished opportunities, and what can you do? We gotta finish ours,” Moore said, recalling one squandered sequence early in the second half. “We were literally right in the 6-yard box and not putting it away.
“Hey, I gotta give it to Punahou. The girls came and had a great game too. … They should be really proud of themselves.”
Dalen Lau, who had the game-winner against Mililani in the semifinals, was named tournament Most Oustanding Player.
Punahou sophomore Xeyana Salanoa was named the goalkeeper of the tournament.
Pac-Five repeats
On paper, Saturday’s 1-0 result over Kapaa was a repeat championship in Division II for the Pac-Five Wolfpack. In actuality, it was something completely new.
The alliance of small private schools came together under acting head coach Aliani Lorenzo, a first-year assistant pressed into service when co-coaches Ryan and Shannon Leong stepped aside due to family health issues.
Lorenzo, a Campbell alumna, helped instill an offense-first mindset in the team and the Wolfpack justified it by playing most of Saturday playing in the Warriors’ half of the field.
“We came to play for them,” Lorenzo said of the Leongs, “and we won states.
“I’m really proud and honored to be a head coach for these women, for Pac-Five. And I love them,” she added.
Pac-Five outscored its opposition 19-0 in four tournament matches, including a 12-0 drubbing of Farrington in the opener.
On Saturday, senior Mia Hironaka had the decider just before halftime in the 39th minute. She lobbed a free kick from 25 yards over the Warriors’ wall and perfectly into the top right corner.
Hironaka said she is one of “six or seven” players from Maryknoll, but that she has a strong bond with teammates regardless of which school they hail from.
“It’s really amazing, honestly,” Hironaka said. “A lot of schools come together for one goal. Being able to bond within a short period of time and really coming together when we need to. It’s really different.”
Pac-Five won three of the first four Division II titles when the HHSAA went to split classification in 2007. They’ve now won the most recent two since Hawaii Prep Academy ran off seven straight, a run stopped by the pandemic-canceled 2021 season.
Kapaa was denied the KIF’s first girls soccer title on the same day that the Warriors’ girls basketball team broke through with a defeat of Hanalani for that Division II state title.
Brian McInnis covers the state’s sports scene for Spectrum News Hawaii. He can be reached at brian.mcinnis@charter.com.