KEAAU – As Hawaii Prep poured it on towards Kamehameha, one onlooker questioned aloud in regards to the guidelines of the pool: Is offside a penalty in water polo?
No, it’s an open swim, and if Ka Makani regarded like they have been cherry selecting Saturday it’s as a result of they have been so uber-efficient on the counterattack.
Hardly resembling a crew that missed a lot of the previous two seasons due to the pandemic, HPA zipped passes to gamers swimming free to all corners of Naeole Pool, making a BIIF assertion of kinds with a 16-7 victory at Naeole Pool.
“Our focus always starts on defense,” coach Greg McKenna mentioned. “The hard defense created offensive opportunities. We’re fortunate, we got a few water polo players that (are) swimmers.”
“Our objective is to make a steal to set up the counterattack.”
Ka Makani (3-0) have been one to 2 steps forward of the Warriors (2-1) in leaping out to an 11-0 halftime lead. After one second-quarter cease, HPA despatched the ball again to goalkeeper Lia Singh, who popped a fast move on the flank to Ali Wawner, who alertly discovered Claire Hughes swimming on their lonesome on the Kamehameha objective, giving her crew a 7-0 lead.
“There are so many reasons for those counterattacks,” senior Gracie Tadaki mentioned. “It’s just reading the pool and seeing where everyone is.”
When HPA doesn’t provide you with a steal, she mentioned it is aware of a shot try goes to go one in all 3 ways: objective, save or off the mark. Either method, Tadaki mentioned, the mindset is similar: “You want to be able to switch back as fast as you can to get on offense. That’s when you get those advantages, and that makes it a lot easier for us to score.”
McKenna likened Singh to a quarterback who has good imaginative and prescient and might see the pool and discover open receivers. The crew, he mentioned, is constructed round its 4 seniors: Hughes, Phoebe Wyatt and Kia’i Tallett included.
“We’re able to lean on the seniors to lead a big group of juniors,” he mentioned. “They are able to support a bunch of girls who have gotten excited and interested in water polo.”
One of them is freshman Maile Imonen, a swimmer who scored 5 targets. Wawner put house 4, Hughes and Lia Craven recorded hat tips and Tadaki had one. Singh stabbed away a shot from shut vary by Ka’iulani Rocha to maintain Kamehameha off the scoreboard within the first half. Waiahuli Akau scored three targets for Kamehameha, Lainey Eckart collected two and Kacelyn Kubojiri and Oliliu Wise had one every.
The variety of losses Kamehameha’s program suffered from 2010-19 underneath former coach Dan Lyons might be counted on one hand. None of these losses have been as lopsided as this one. The solely time the Warriors didn’t win the BIIF title throughout that 10-year span got here in 2017 when HPA broke by way of.
Ka Makani seem poised to do it once more.
“Every year is a new year,” Tadaki mentioned. “It does really feel very nice, simply the actual fact two actually good groups have been going towards one another, and so they performed a very arduous sport. It’s good that we have been in a position to do it as a crew.
“We’re finally able to get back in the groove like it was my freshman year. It’s nice to be back and see everyone.”
Earlier, HPA beat Waiakea 17-4, getting 5 targets from Hughes – 4 within the first quarter – and 4 apiece from Imonen and Wawner. Tadaki and Craven had two every. La’akea Nakoa-Oness posted a hat trick and Abigail Keith had one objective for the Warriors. Waiakea (1-2) captured its first win of the season within the final of three video games, a 17-2 victory towards Keaau. Nakoa-Oness had six targets, Grace Nichols scored 4 instances, Maili McKeague had a hat trick, Kema Todd-Waiden scored twice and Keith and Ava Aiona every discovered the again of the online as soon as. Ailidh Carroll and Jenesse Trusdell scored for the Cougars (0-3).