WAIPAHU — A pair of familiar foes will meet for all the marbles Saturday night. 

The title game of the Hele/HHSAA Division I Girls Soccer State Championships will feature Interscholastic League of Honolulu rivals Punahou and Kamehameha. 

Kickoff between the Buffanblu (8-2-1) and Warriors (9-1) is set for 7 p.m. at the Waipio Peninsula Soccer Complex main stadium. 

Punahou, the three-time defending state champion, got past Kamehameha-Maui by a score of 1-0 in the matinee matchup of Friday's semifinal doubleheader at Waipio. Kamehameha, the No. 1 seed in the tournament and ILH champion, posted a 6-0 win over Kaiser in the nightcap. 

Kyani Eveland scored the lone goal for the ILH runner-up Buffanblu in the 69th minute off an assist from Kaia Maloian. 

In the lead up to the scoring play, Maloian received a pass along the right flank from teammate Kylie Tang. After she collected the ball, Maloian turned on the jets and sped past a KS-Maui defender. As she got near the end line, Maloian cutback to her left, then back to her right to create a crease of separation before she delivered a pass toward the area of the near post, where Eveland made a sliding stab at the ball and poked it just inside the right post for the goal. 

Warriors' goalkeeper Braelyn Hong made a diving attempt, but to no avail on Eveland's go-ahead goal from point blank. 

"Honestly, I saw it and I just wanted it," Maloian said. "I was sprinting as hard as I could. I knew I was going to get the ball. I got it and in that moment my thought process was to take it to the line and cross it and that's what I did. I stayed composed and I'm really proud of myself for that and I'm also very proud of Kyani for getting on that ball."

It was the second goal of the season for Eveland, one of a half-dozen freshmen on the Buffanblu roster. 

Maloian is one of eight sophomores on the team, but is in her first varsity season after sitting out her freshman year due to injury. 

"I'm really grateful to be here because last year I was injured so it feels great to be back on the pitch and representing the school that I go to — I love Punahou, I love the girls," Maloian said. "Tonight was a win that we worked hard for and I'm happy to be able to contribute to that."

Although the pair of underclassmen were not among Punahou's starting 11, their late-game contributions in a high-stakes, late-season contest speaks to the depth of talent on coach Shelley Izuno's squad. 

"I gotta give credit to the seniors and the captains that they just convey the importance of everybody," Izuno said. 

"Everybody has a role on the team and everybody has their strengths and they can contribute in whatever way it is and those two, they're already ready to work, whether they're coming off the bench or starting or whatever it is and when they're in they just give it their all and they definitely play for each other," Izuno added. 

Punahou utilized 17 substitutions and Izuno mixed and matched her personnel as the night went on in an attempt to create goal-scoring opportunities. 

Maloian saw time at both outside forward (wing) positions Friday before she eventually shifted up top to center forward. About four minutes later, the Buffanblu manufactured the game winner. 

"We spend a lot of time talking about the job of every role and so they know exactly what they need to do wherever they go on the field and she always has that work ethic, so she's gonna work hard no matter where she is," Izuno said. 

Although Punahou controlled much of the possession and held a one-sided advantage on shots on goal — 7 to 1 after halftime and 11 to 3 for the match — it struggled to finish its chances in the final third. 

The Buffanblu appeared to get on the board about seven minutes in when Tang found forward Maya Yoshimura with a pass ahead and Yoshimura, as she was falling, took a left-footed jab at the ball that found the back of the net. However, Yoshimura was called for being offsides, which negated the goal. 

Yoshimura put two other shots on goal in the first half — including a header attempt in the 12th minute — and both Jaz Chang and Aina Nakamura also tallied a pair of shots on goal in the first 40 minutes of play, but Hong denied each one of them. 

The Warriors' lone shot on goal before halftime came in the 39th minute. A Punahou foul gave Kayla Baptist a direct free kick from just beyond 40 yards out, but Buffanblu ‘keeper Samantha Shiroma came up with the save. 

The match was scoreless at halftime and through the first dozen minutes of the second half. Punahou was unable to cash in on a golden opportunity in the 53rd minute, when Nakamura stole the ball from a KS-Maui defender in the attacking third. Nakamura found a wide-open Yoshimura in front of the goal with a pass, but Yoshimura missed her shot wide right of the frame. 

The Buffanblu put another shot on goal in the 65th minute via Kaitlyn Osada's free kick from just outside the left edge of the 18-yard box, but Hong blocked the low shot from Osada and covered it up. 

Four minutes after that was when Maloian and Eveland teamed up to break the scoreless tie. 

Izuno credited her team for staying the course despite the numerous missed opportunities. 

"Huge credit to them for not panicking. We talked about it at halftime and I think it's just belief in each other that they can do it and we've had other games where we panicked and it definitely didn't work out, so it's good that they learned that lesson and we just trust each other," Izuno said. 

Maloian credited her teammates on defense for limiting KS-Maui to just three shots on goal. The Warriors did not attempt a single corner kick all night. 

"I'm very proud of our defense. I think we did a good job of staying composed and getting the ball out and I think that everyone on our team played a major part to our win tonight and I'm very proud of that, We have a lot of girls on our team with experience. I think that our team is very calm and posed and I think that we made smart decisions," Maloian said.

Punahou, which has allowed just five goals all season, has shutout its last four opponents. 

KS-Maui, which had won seven of its last eight games, was shutout for a third time this season. 

The Warriors were making their first appearance in the final four since 2023 and were seeking their first appearance in the title match. Entering Friday's game against Punahou, they had allowed just one goal in their last eight games. 

"Kamehameha-Maui did a great job. They're physical, they're fast, they played much different than (Thursday), so we had to adjust to them while sticking to our game plan," Izuno said. 

KS-Maui (11-2-2) will play Kaiser (12-2-2) for third place at 3 p.m. Saturday. 

The Cougars hung tough with Kamehameha for one half, but saw the flood gates open after the break, when the Warriors scored five goals in the final 40 minutes. 

Camryn Gouveia got Kamehameha on the board in the 26th minute on a direct free kick. 

Kaahupau Montgomery doubled up the Warriors' lead four minutes into the second half and made it a 3-0 cushion with another goal — off an assist from Mya Kishida — about nine minutes later. 

Shea-Michelle Santos scored in the 72nd minute and Ionare Ve'e found the back of the net a minute later to stretch it to a 5-0 lead. Sarai Camerrer scored in the closing seconds to complete the rout. 

Kamehameha amassed 17 shots on goal by nine different players. Kaiser managed two shots on goal in each half. 

Natalie Barnhart registered 10 saves between the posts for the Cougars, while Kailla Miller made four saves for the Warriors. 

Kamehameha has been in every state championship match since 2019, while Punahou has reached the title game every year since 2022. 

Saturday will mark the fifth consecutive year that the Buffanblu and Warriors will face off for the state championship.