Warriors, Raiders into semis

LIHU‘E — Two out of four ain’t bad.

That is now how the Kaua‘i Interscholastic Federation is represented, as the HHSAA Division II girls soccer championships played down to the final four teams on Thursday, with the Kapa‘a Lady Warriors and Kaua‘i Red Raiders each winning to advance to the state semifinals.

Each squad will play again at 3 p.m. this afternoon at the Waipio Peninsula Soccer Complex on O‘ahu, matches that could set up an all-Kaua‘i championship final.

Kaua‘i was a 2-0 winner over No. 4 seeded Hawai‘i Preparatory Academy, now outscoring its first two opponents in the tournament by an 11-0 total.

Kylie Tanaguchi got the Raiders on the board with a goal in the 13th minute.

Alyssa “Malu” Vegas, coming off a hat trick in the team’s Wednesday win over Kaimuki, scored the second goal in the 31st minute of action.

No. 2 seed Kapa‘a took out Honoka‘a, thanks to first-half goals from Dakota Barnett (26th minute) and Seri Niimi-Burch (39th minute) on its way to a 2-1 win.

Niimi-Burch’s goal proved huge in the late stages as Monica Carlos scored in the 72nd minute for Honoka‘a.

Barnett, one of Kapa‘a’s main offensive weapons all season, received a red card in Thursday’s win. Her status for today’s match against defending champion Pac-Five is uncertain.

Pac-Five, the No. 3 seed, notched a 2-1 win over KS-Hawaii on Thursday, getting scores from Akemi Rair (4th minute) and the game-winner from Kendal Kagawa (47th).

In the other quarterfinal matchup of the afternoon, No. 1 seed Kailua was a 4-1 winner over Makua Lani.

Kapa‘a is hoping to return to the championship game for the second straight season, though it is hoping for a different result after last season’s shootout loss to Pac-Five.

Kaua‘i was also eliminated from last year’s tournament by Pac-Five in the semifinal round, going on to take third place overall.