Mililani's Kurlin Wurlitzer clears the ball away from Pearl City's Daelenn Tokunaga. Leighland Tagawa | Special to SL

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_17012224_photo25.jpg - Leighland Tagawa | Special to SL

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If Saturday night's OIA Division I girls soccer championship match is any indication, there isn't a lot of separation between Mililani and Pearl City.

The Trojans and Chargers are, traditionally speaking, two of the regal programs in the hierarchy that is OIA soccer and have combined to win 24 league titles between them.

The teams faced off once again Saturday night — the eighth time that they've met in an OIA final — with Mililani ultimately coming away with a hard-fought 1-0 win.

The Trojans, no doubt, caught a lucky break this time around when Karlin Wurlitzer's direct free kick from 35 yards out squirmed through the hands of Pearl City goalkeeper Coryn Perreira and into the net.

Still, Mililani's defense came through in what was arguably its toughest test to date this season.

The Chargers possess one of the most potent offenses around with a trio of prolific goal scorers in Daelenn Tokunaga, Sunshine Fontes and Randi Fontes, who have combined for 52 goals this year.

Mililani's back line of fullbacks Gabrielle Hackbarth, Jodi Lillie, Malia Napoleon and Wurlitzer, along with goalkeeper Andrea Kenagy deserve a lot of the credit for holding Pearl City scoreless for just the second time this season, but the defensive effort extended beyond them.

"I always felt the same way, that defense is the one that's going to keep us in the game and this defensive team we've got, the cohesiveness they have and just the type of grit that they play with, they're just going to take everything that they can and get to it, I'm so proud of them from our goalkeepers to our fullbacks, but even our halfbacks came back and had to play defense against a really, really tough Pearl City team," Mililani coach Ray Akiona said.

The Chargers had seven shots on goal for the game to Mililani's three. Tokunaga, last season's All-Hawaii Offensive Player of the Year, flashed her blazing speed on run after run, while Sunshine Fontes, another First-Team All-Hawaii pick last year, peppered Kenagy over and over with shots from near and far.

However, as the game went on the Trojans' depth started to become a factor.

While Akiona brought in substitution after substitution, the Chargers — who entered the game nursing a number of bumps and bruises — largely rode their horses the distance.

"We always believed in the bench and my team, we're very fortunate that we have players that are very equitable across in talent, so we can go to the bench and not drop our game and we did," Akiona said. "We went way deep into the bench, meaning that just about everything we had we had to put out there and they came through. The whole team came through, so I've got to give them credit for that."

Pearl City coach Frank Baumholtz III, to his credit, refused to use fatigue as an excuse, but it was evident in the final 20 minutes or so that his team was just a step slower than it had been in the first half.

Both teams will have a week off before the state tournament gets underway on Jan. 30.

"The whole goal for me for the whole season was just to make it to the state," Baumholtz III said. "We made it to the state, we got here, they didn't do it, so it's up to them what they're going to do now. They'll hold their heads high or they're going to sulk."

The Chargers were in a similar situation last year, when they lost to Mililani in the OIA final before going on to win the state title.

"You can't get disappointed in it; we got this far," Baumholtz III said. "It's the same position we were in last year, so we've just got to take it from here and hopefully make something out of it."