An own goal and a stifling defense helped Guam High move within one victory of its first Far East girls’ soccer title.

Jade Lanier converted a penalty kick and Kadena put the ball into its own net on a Guam corner kick in the Lady Panthers’ 2-0 victory Thursday in the Class AA semifinals.

Playing in its first Far East final, Guam will play Kubasaki on Friday. Kubasaki routed Nile C. Kinnick 5-0 on Thursday to advance to its fourth consecutive championship match.

In the Class AA boys tournament on Camp Foster, Okinawa, Yokota and Kadena advanced to Friday’s championship match.

The Panthers reached the final for the second year in a row by beating Zama American 2-1. Kadena returned to the title game for the first time in two years by defeating defending champ Kubasaki 2-1 in a shootout.

The Guam girls, who entered Far East with a 14-0 record and 66-3 goal differential, are trying to win the school’s second Department of Defense Dependents Schools Far East championship. The boys basketball team won the Class A title in 1998.

“We capitalized,” said Lady Panthers coach Santiago Ortiz, whose team lost to Kadena in pool play. “Kadena is such a strong team. They move the ball well.”

Ortiz said the keys to victory were scoring first and containing freshman striker Dianne Abel, who scored two of her six goals this week against Guam.

“I knew if we could shut down No. 25, we could control them,” Ortiz said.

The Lady Panthers, hampered by injuries early in the tournament, were shut out by Kinnick and Kadena in round-robin play.

A 2-1 triumph over the American School In Japan in the playoff opener on Wednesday “was the turning point,” according to Ortiz.

“That got our confidence back,” he said. “The speed that brought us here was there. It was a little rough, but we got it back.”

The Kadena girls failed to reach the final for the first time in the event’s history. A hand ball in the box led to Lanier’s penalty-kick goal, then Ashley Stuzman put the ball in her own net off a corner kick.

“We controlled the whole game, but we made two mistakes," Kadena coach Hoa Nguyen said. “Sometimes that’s all it takes.”

Kubasaki rode the leg of sophomore striker Erin Foote, the reigning Far East MVP, to a lopsided victory over Kinnick. She curved in a corner kick, converted a penalty kick and scored from 15 yards. Kristina Wesche and Mary Ann Ulrich added goals as the Lady Dragons spent most of the game attacking Kinnick’s net.

Dragons coach Terry Chumley said Ulrich has been a focal point of her team’s success.

“Her skills are so much improved from last year,” Chumley said. “We had such a mature, experienced defense last year. She behaves as a defender at midfield, which really helps us. She makes the difference in the team.”

Three freshmen led the Kadena boys past Kubasaki on Thursday and into their first final since 2001, when they lost to Kubasaki.

Striker Aaron Zendejas and midfielder Nathan LaGrave, both freshmen, scored in the shootout and classmate Ted Awana stopped two penalty kicks.

Kadena coach Sue Fitzpatrick was impressed with the defensive work of LaGrave.

“He was a brick wall back there,” she said. “He beefed up our defense when we needed it. Ted, you wouldn’t even know he’s a freshman. He was there, ready, poised. And Aaron, talk about the pressure on his shoulders. He makes the shot and it’s over.”

The Dragons had never missed a championship match after the first Far East boys tournament in 1999.

Kadena was set to meet a Yokota team that lost to Zama 10 days earlier.

“We played better defense,” Yokota coach Tim Pujol said about the difference between last week’s 2-1 loss and Thursday’s victory. “We were trying to ensure that we had all the players marked properly, which didn’t happen the last time.”

After Zama’s Jimmy Flatley tied it 1-1 with a penalty kick in the 71st minute, Bronson Bailey, Yokota’s lone freshman, put the Panthers ahead to stay one minute later.

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