Julia Perry and Ka Makani takes on Brianna Binder and the Warriors for the Division II championship Saturday night at 5 p.m. Michael Lasquero | SL

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More often than not, at least in recent memory, the road to the Division II girls state soccer title has gone through Hawaii Prep.

This year is no exception.

Ka Makani, the top seed in this week's Queen's Medical Center/HHSAA D2 State Championships, will try to extend their reign with a fourth straight title Saturday night. Standing in their way will be No. 2 seed Kapaa — a team HPA knows all too well.

The teams met in a preseason tournament hosted by HPA back in November. Ka Makani came away with a 2-1 victory that afternoon in Waimea.

Furthermore, former HPA assistant Scott Grainger now serves on the Kapaa staff under second-year coach Mytra McKeague.

"He was with us for the last four years or so before he moved back to Kauai," HPA coach Steve Perry said of Grainger, who works with the Warriors' defensive players.

Not that Perry needed a scouting report on the Warriors.

"They're good. They have a good couple of speedy girls up top, they're athletic and quick and they have a high back line that we'll have to get ready for because they'll try and catch you offsides, and they're very physical," Perry said.

Kapaa went 11-1 during the regular season to win the Kauai Interscholastic Federation title and posted nine shut outs along the way.

Junior forward Brianna Binder leads the Warriors in scoring with 24 goals this season. She scored one of Kapaa's two goals in Friday's semifinal win over PAC-5.

McKeague also pointed to senior midfielders Kaisha Davis-Caberto (13 goals), Natalie Devin (12), freshman Talia Washington (9) and junior forward Alyanah Walker (8) as key contributors, as well as senior goalkeeper Nigeria Williams.

"I think our strength of the team is that they work together, the chemistry is good and they play for each other and not only themselves," said McKeague, a 2000 Kapaa graduate. "They're a talented group of girls, for sure."

The Warriors will be making their first appearance in a state final since 2009. They reached the semifinal round in each of the past two seasons, only to lose both times in penalty kicks.

"We know they wanted that they wanted to do better than they did last year, so of course that took like four months of practice and hard work, but that has been a big motivating factor for them."

No team from the KIF has ever won a girls state soccer title — a point not lost on McKeague.

"In the beginning of the year we asked the girls about an early goal, a midterm goal and then a longterm goal and so far they've reached them. They have one more goal and that's to hopefully take care of business (Saturday)," McKeague said.

HPA, meanwhile, is no stranger to playing in big games. It will be playing in its sixth straight D2 state final.

"I think that helps with the whole weekend that we're over here in terms of prepping for that and taking care of our bodies and fueling and eating well and resting and so on," Perry said.

Ka Makani advanced to Saturday's final with a 2-1 win over Seabury Hall in Friday's semifinal round.

"We're going to have to play a lot better than we did (Friday) to have any success (Saturday)," Perry said. "We didn't have our legs in the second half. I think the girls are a little tight and we have some injuries that we're dealing with."

Despite their state-tournament experience, Ka Makani are a relatively young squad, with just two seniors. Instead, they have relied on a number of underclassmen to shoulder the load.

Sophomore forward Emi Higgins is the main scoring threat with 18 goals this season.

"She's kind of a target and she's very creative one-on-one, so a lot of times we kind of rely on that," Perry said of Higgins. "She kind of creates things that maybe aren't there. She draws so many defenders, but she also has the vision to pass. She's a weapon and I'm sure they're going to be keying on her."

Perry said the strength of his team lies up the middle, starting with Higgins up top, along with center-kids Rowan Kotner, Jenna Perry and Teah Van Burger, center-backs Julia Perry and Zoe Ganley, and finally goalkeeper Maia Mills.

"That's our core that has basically carried us, so if they're healthy good things happen. They need to stay on the field for 80 minutes," Perry said.

Kick off between the Warriors (13-1) and Ka Makani (10-2-2) is set for 5 p.m. at the Waipio Peninsula Soccer Stadium.