In blustery conditions that forced officials to temporarily postpone the game midway through and postpone the following boys game, the Kamehameha and Punahou girls soccer teams tied, 1-1, in an Interscholastic League of Honolulu matchup yesterday at Kamehameha.

"That was probably one of the worst" playing conditions in Michele Nagamine's coaching career with the Warriors, she said. "In my 15 or 16 years, it's one of the top three."

The expected showdown between Punahou's (3-0-1) experienced defense, which had not allowed a goal entering the game, and Kamehameha's (2-0-1) explosive offense, which had scored a league-high 14 goals before yesterday, was interrupted because of the weather.

Although dark and heavy clouds hung overhead before the game, it took about 20 minutes before it actually rained. The usually pristine view from Kuniakea Stadium was a wall of gray, and as the wind and rain whipped from ocean to mountain, the referee cleared the field.

Punahou went into the unplanned break up 1-0 on a goal by sophomore forward Bri Afoa, who scored in the 12th minute.

Afoa received the ball near midfield and turned with it, beating the Kamehameha defense on a footrace before finishing with a shot to the right side of the goal.

"Once I flicked the ball (to turn), I just thought, 'Go, go, go for the team,' " Afoa said. "I came out just wanting to win."

Afoa, who was often the lone forward surrounded by Kamehameha defenders, was the recipient of several long balls from her teammates, who tried to isolate her and use her speed. But her goal, which came on a counterattack off a Warriors' corner kick, was the first time Afoa broke through successfully.

Play resumed about 20 minutes after the postponement, the teams had to negotiate the puddles that had formed on the field. The barely playable conditions were disruptive for ball-control teams like the Buffanblu and Warriors, who adjusted their playing style to a more direct one, playing long balls and foregoing the build-up by possession in the middle of the field like they previously had played.

"It changed the whole complexion of the game," Punahou coach Matt Martinson said. "The wind was the first obstacle.

"Once the puddles started, we couldn't play possession. We had to hope for a break and Kamehameha doesn't give you many chances."

The water created almost comical situations. Players would dribble but the ball would get stuck in the water as they kept running. Passes would stop midway to their target as if someone pushed the pause button. The corner flags were blowing nearly flat.

It stopped raining for most of the rest of the game, except the final five minutes.

With both teams trying to capitalize on minimal chances, it was the Warriors who broke through first on a Punahou own goal set up by a corner kick from sophomore forward Caprice Dydasco in the 67th minute. Junior forward Courtney-Rae Botelho jumped over Dydasco's low, driven kick, letting the ball pass between her legs. The move pulled Punahou goalkeeper Alana Munger to the near post, leaving the net open. With everyone crashing the goal, a Punahou player put it in.

"We're a smaller team, the way we match up with Punahou, they have good size and speed and we like to possess," Nagamine said. "(The weather) kind of took us out of our game for a bit."

PUNAHOU-KAMEHAMEHA BOYS POSTPONED

The Punahou-Kamehameha boys game that was scheduled to follow was postponed about 12 minutes after its start because of the weather. The game will be rescheduled.