The difference for the Kamehameha girls soccer team is Mana.

Meleana "Mana" Shim scored and had an assist in the first five minutes of the second half as the Warriors came back from a 1-0 halftime deficit to beat Kapolei, 2-1, in the Meadow Gold Dairies/HHSAA Girls Division I State Soccer Championship last night at Waipi'o Peninsula Soccer Stadium in front of 3,242 fans.

"I'm stoked," Shim said after Kamehameha won its second consecutive state title. "This is the best team I've been a part of."

"She comes to play," Kamehameha coach Michele Nagamine said. "She did some things that are flat out unbelievable. With the ball at her feet, she's so fluid."

Shim, a sophomore, credited her coaches and seniors Jenny Eugenio, Shayna Kapaona, Mari Punzal, Kylee Ann Ah Choy and Nicole Akiu.

"Just to get out of the ILH, we were thrilled," Nagamine said. "This is just the icing on the cake. It's an amazing feeling."

Shim scored on a free kick from the left side of the 18-yard box in the second minute after intermission to tie the score. Shim's kick skipped past the Kapolei wall of defenders and tucked inside the left near post.

"I aimed for the near post, and I saw Mari distract the goalkeeper," Shim said. "She's my inspiration."

Shim set up the Warriors' second goal on a corner kick that found Punzal's head in the 45th minute.

"We just practiced it a lot, it's like our main set piece," Punzal said. " 'Mana' is actually like my little sister. She has so much energy, and she gives it all to me."

Kapolei's first-half goal "shattered our confidence," Punzal said. "We came out (strong) in the second half."

Nagamine said she challenged her team at halftime to play hard and score quickly, "but I didn't think they would score twice in the first five minutes. I told them we were here last year, and to rely on our experience."

Kapolei freshman midfielder Kristina Behrens scored in the 27th minute.

Senior midfielder Chyanne Alejado started the play on a 30-yard free kick that she chipped into the 18-yard box. Sophomore forward Chelsea Swann headed it, but it went to the left and was poked out by a defender. The cleared ball went straight to Behrens, whose shot deflected off the head of a defender and into the far right side of the goal.

"I think after we scored, the girls got confident," Kapolei coach Brian Beck said. "Kamehameha caught us sleeping a little bit in the second half.

"But this ride has been really great."

Meadow Gold Dairies/HHSAA Girls Soccer State Tournament

Reach Leila Wai at lwai@honoluluadvertiser.com.