Brittny Ihara got a thrill not many can say they’ve experienced.
On Friday night, with Ihara’s Pearl City Chargers locked in a 1-1 game with Waiakea in the first-round of the Division I girls soccer state tournament, Ihara blasted home a rebound in the 73rd minute for a 2-1 win to put her team in Saturday’s quarterfinals against OIA champion Campbell.
Scoring the winning goal in a state tournament game is one thing, but doing it as a freshman is another.
Yes, Ihara, a center midfielder, is in her first year of high school.
When asked if she was surprised, Ihara answered in the affirmative.
“I’m usually a distributor,” she said. “I only had one goal this season before this. It’s really exciting in my first state tournament to advance and be playing tomorrow night on TV (OC 16).”
The Chargers lost to Campbell 3-1 in the regular season.
“We can work better as a team (in the rematch),” said said, who says she stands between 4 feet 10 and 4 feet 11. “We can talk more and make more combinations and work harder.”
Concerning her big goal, Ihara said, “My teammate (Bethany Nazareno, who scored the Chargers’ first goal) made a nice header and I was there for the rebound.”
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