Kamehameha maintained its position atop the Interscholastic League of Honolulu boys soccer standings yesterday, despite a 0-0 tie at second-place 'Iolani.

The Warriors are 5-0-1 at the end of the first round; the Raiders are 4-1-1.

Late in yesterday's game, it appeared as if Kamehameha had an advantage and an opportunity to take a bigger lead in the league race, after an 'Iolani player was issued a red card and the Raiders were forced to play the final seven minutes short-handed.

The Warriors already had the trade winds at their back playing on the Raiders' baseball outfield.

But Kamehameha could manage only two shots on goal in those final seven minutes despite the advantage in numbers.

"We still played our game," said Warriors coach Andrew Ah New. "I didn't want our guys to take chances and have it hurt us on the other end. Nobody is happy with a tie, but we always expect a war when we play these guys and it's hard to win here on this field."

'Iolani played Kamehameha pretty much even in the first half, when the game's physical tone was set in intermittent rain and windy conditions. The Raiders were issued one yellow card for a high kick in the 17th minute and another player left with an injury in the 30th minute.

Then things looked bad for 'Iolani when, after a fight for a loose ball near the Raiders' penalty box, the referee awarded a goal kick to the Warriors. An 'Iolani player was then issued the red card for swearing.

'Iolani coach Chris Lee said the Raiders managed to keep their focus despite being a man down the rest of the way. Goalkeeper Chris Otani finished with eight saves, including five in the second half.

"Our team stayed pretty composed, there was no real panic," Lee said.

But with only one forward up top, 'Iolani could not generate much offense and Kamehameha controlled the ball for much of the remaining seven minutes.

The Warriors outshot the Raiders 6-2 in the second half.

"We'd like to get one goal for every 10 shots we take, but today we didn't get any," Ah New said.

Like Ah New, Lee said it's hard to get excited about a tie, but acknowledged it's better than a loss.

"We hung in there, and at least we're still in the race," Lee said. "We still control our own destiny."

Read Wes Nakama's blog on prep sports at http://blogs.honoluluadvertiser.com

Reach Wes Nakama at wnakama@honoluluadvertiser.com.

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