LIHU‘E — Kapa‘a forward Madisson Hinkel overcame a first-half injury to pocket a goal in the 70th minute to give the Warriors a 2-1 edge over Kaua‘i Wednesday during the Kaua‘i Interscholastic Federation playoff for the girls soccer title. Playing
LIHU‘E — Kapa‘a forward Madisson Hinkel overcame a first-half injury to pocket a goal in the 70th minute to give the Warriors a 2-1 edge over Kaua‘i Wednesday during the Kaua‘i Interscholastic Federation playoff for the girls soccer title.
Playing under a blanket of solid fan support for both teams at Vidinha Stadium, the Kapa‘a girls struck first when midfielder Cassie Wilson found a gap for the first score about 15 minutes into play.
Solid defensive play from both sides kept the Kapa‘a bulge until the final minutes of the first half when Kaua‘i got a break, sending Kaylee Tamura to boot a penalty kick.
The kick soared high over Kapa‘a goalkeeper Madeline Rausch’s leaping save attempt and settled in the right pocket for the 1-1 deadlock, which stood until the 70th minute when Hinkel, scoring the Warriors’ go-ahead goal in Saturday’s 1-0 win over Waimea, found the net after sitting out most of the first half after a midfield collision left her winded.
With less than 10 minutes remaining in the contest, Kaua‘i saw the urgency of scoring and despite a concerted effort up front, met up with the quick and solid defense headed up by Eryka Keoho, Mia Cabulisan, Taylor Foster and getting help from Kaiemi Moniz and Jamie Brun from the midfield.
With the win, the Kapa‘a girls join the Kapa‘a boys as KIF soccer champions, advancing to the respective Hawai‘i High School Athletic Association state championships.
Kaua‘i still has a window when it faces the O‘ahu Interscholastic Association runner-up team for a play-in game Saturday starting at 2 p.m. at Vidinha Stadium.
The play-in game opens a trio of games at Vidinha Stadium when the Kapa‘a boys close out its season against Kaua‘i, the junior varsity boys taking the field at 4:15 p.m. followed by the varsity boys game.
Earlier in the day, Waimea will visit Island School for a 10 a.m. match followed by the Kaua‘i JV girls closing its season against the Island School girls in a game re-scheduled from last Saturday.
•Dennis Fujimoto, photographer and staff writer, can be reached at 245-3681 (ext. 253) or dfujimoto@thegardenisland.com.
