ILH Girls Water Polo
Iolani downs Kamehameha, 6-1, to secure state berth


  





Two goals by Jacie Fukada propelled Iolani over the Warriors on the last match of the post-season Thursday night at Punahou High School. With the 6-1 victory over Kamehameha-Kapalama, the Raiders seized a spot in the upcoming state tournament.

"We put a lot of work into this win," Fukada said. "I think we (Iolani) all agreed that we put in all our effort into this game because we have nothing to lose. We honestly have come so far and we just wanted to showcase our work in this game."

"It was an exciting win. The girls played really tough," said Raiders coach Brennan Shum. "The girls really turned it up and played with a lot of heart tonight. I think the defense really brought us our win."

Iolani got on the board early in the first period of the match. Kiana Harpstrite sent a laser of a ball into the left inside netting of the goal at the 6:26 mark of the period. Harpstrite leads the Interscholastic League of Honolulu Division 1 scoring with 22 points so far this year.

"Kiana is our leader of the team. She’s one of our strongest players," said Shum. "You can always expect Kiana to play with a lot of heart and a lot of intensity."

"(Harpstrite) has always been my role model," said Fukada. "She always pushed me and she’s a really motivated person."

The Raiders got on the board again nearly two minutes later with a goal by Fukada. The junior scored from nearly 26 feet away from the goal at the 4:30 mark of the first. She added another score to her belt later on in the match.

"Our coaches really enforced confidence and that’s what I had in mind," said Fukada. "When I got the ball, you just think ‘I’m going to make this’ and just put in the goal."

"Jacie is one of the smallest players out there but she plays with a lot of heart and energy," said Shum. "She was huge for us tonight."

Kamehameha responded a minute later with a goal by Hiipoi Lee. Her goal put the score at 2-1 heading into the second. Lee ends the season with seven points. The Raiders had previously beaten Kamehameha-Kapalama twice this year before playing them Thursday night with scores of 9-6 and 4-1.

 "(Kamehameha-Kapalama) came out with a lot of fire," said Shum. "Kamehameha has always been a tough team. They have a lot of athletic talent."

Liz Barr scored the next two points for Iolani at the 5:37 and 4:48 mark of the second. Barr is second in ILH scoring with 14 points so far this year. Fukada put the next point on the board, making the score 5-1 with 3:43 left until halftime.

"(Barr), tonight, came out really well. She was all over the place tonight," said Shum. "She made a lot of good shots in the first half of the game that helped us out."

No points were scored during the third period. The score remained the same until the 3:56 mark of the fourth period. Kelsie Kodama scored the final goal for Iolani as the match ended 6-1.

Iolani advances to the state tournament representing the ILH second seed with Punahou getting the seeded berth as the undefeated regular season champion.



Reach Aven Santiago at [email protected].




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