Tue, Dec 17, 2013 @ Mililani

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Pearl City

1

Mililani

3

Final	1st	2nd	OT	2OT	PK	Tot
Pearl City (11-5-0)	0	0	-	-	-	1
Mililani (15-4-0)	0	0	-	-	-	3

M. Matas (2)   J. Cunningham    P. Enriquez

MILILANI — Jeff Yamamoto's Mililani team passed part A of a two-part test Tuesday night by beating Pearl City, 3-1, in an Oahu Interscholastic Association Western Division soccer game.

Marc Matas scored in both halves in front of a home crowd of about 300 spectators at John Kauinana Stadium improve to 2-0. The Chargers dropped their first regular-season game to fall to 2-1.

Mililani scored twice in the first seven minutes of the game on goals by a pair of juniors in Jeron Cunningham and Matas.

"We got lucky," Trojans' coach Jeff Yamamoto said. "We got some good goals by (Matas) and Jeron. Those guys are our key players."

Cunningham was the ultimate beneficiary of back-to-back Mililani corner kicks within early in the first half. After the first corner, which was taken by Micah Ishikawa, delfected past the end line off a Pearl City player, Chris Galang served up a pass off the ensuing corner that Cunningham found perfectly to head into the upper right corner of the goal.

"It calmed us down a bit," Matas said of the early goal. "They were pressuring high a bit, so we had to score early to keep the game on our side."

Just two minutes later, Matas lined up a direct kick off a Pearl City foul — one of 10 for the match — from about 25 yards out, which he kicked off the left post and past the Charger goalkeeper.

"It was a lucky hit," Matas said of his goal.

That score made it a two-goal lead for the Trojans, which held until the 20th minute when Pearl City's Paul Enriquez redireted a loose ball to the right of the keeper.

Mililani had back-to-back corner kicks again in the 32nd and 33rd minutes of the first half, but failed to convert on either opportunity. The Trojans led at halftime, 2-1. They were whistled for seven fouls in the first half and nine for the game.

Matas scored his second goal in the 58th minute on a low, lining right-footed shot from about eight yards in front of the goal to give the home team its second two-goal lead of the game.

"The ball just scrambled in the box, Kala (Judd) had that whiff and I just came into came into the box," said Matas, who sat out last season after transferring from Leilehua.

Yamamoto says Matas is a key component to the Trojan offense.

"He's one of our captains and he's a very, very critical player for us," Yamamoto said. He's definitely an impact player for us."

Pearl City took more shots than Mililani by a margin of eight to five, but had zero shots on goal in the second half. The Chargers, who were whistled offsides three times to the Trojans' zero, had not allowed a goal entering the game.

"They played well," Yamamoto said of Pearl City. "Those guys took it to us, took us our of our game. They made it a lot more interesting than I was hoping for and I thought coach Randy (Shinn) did a good job coaching that team."

Mililani will play another important league game Friday night when it visits unbeaten Kapolei.

"They have a very, very, very good team and I think that's probably going to determine the standing in the season," Yamamoto said.

The Trojans and Hurricanes will follow the girls' game — which also features a pair of undefeated teams — at 5:30 p.m.