Int. Black Girls Soccer Beats Punahou Gold 1-0
by Al Linsky
Games against Punahou are always big, important events. As I watched this match unfold, I didn't realize how important this game actually was.
This year, the intermediate girls' ranks are following a different schedule. It is called an unbalanced schedule, meaning that each team has a different schedule. Usually everyone plays everyone, the same number of times. This year, some teams don't play each other at all in the first round.
The regular season ended with yesterday's game. Now the top six teams will play for the ILH Championship. The Blacks were in 7th place going into yesterday's game, the Golds were in 6th. Now you see how important this game was.
The first half was ragged. Both teams had trouble holding on to the ball for more than a few seconds and the most frequent occurrence was the ball going out of bounds and a subsequent throw in. It was windy, so I think that had something to do with it.
At about eight minutes into the second half, Steffanie Tanaka got her foot on a loose ball in front and broke the scoring ice. 1-0, Raiders.
Punahou Gold didn't panic. They responded by raising their level of play to try to get that goal back. The Raiders' defense, though, stood up to the pressure and that's how the game ended.
The Blacks will now play the Reds in the first round of the playoffs for a chance to move on.
To see more photos, please visit iolani-events.org.
