Mililani's Trent Kamiya attempts to control the ball against Kapolei. Sylvia Lee | SL

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Kapolei's Dakota Kato attempts to dribble the ball as Mililani's Chris Galang defends. Sylvia Lee | SL

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Kapolei's Shay Akau attempts to trap the ball after a pass against Mililani. Sylvia Lee | SL

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Mililani's Micah Ishikawa celebrates after a goal scored in the first half against Kapolei. Sylvia Lee | SL

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Fri, Dec 20, 2013 @ Kapolei

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Mililani

1

Kapolei

0

Final	1st	2nd	OT	2OT	PK	Tot
Mililani (15-4-0)	0	0	-	-	-	1
Kapolei (12-6-1)	0	0	-	-	-	0

M. Ishikawa

KAPOLEI — Micah Ishikawa netted the lone goal as Mililani narrowly defeated division-rival Kapolei, 1-0, in an Oahu Interscholastic Association Western Division game Friday night.

A crowd of about 250 fans at the Hurricanes' home field saw the visiting Trojans improve to 3-0, while the hosts fell to 2-1.

"It was pretty big for us because it's kind of dictates where we're going to be in the playoffs for the OIA," Ishikawa said of the Trojans' second shutout win in three games. "I'm just so happy that I scored and it was against Kapolei. It feels really good."

The game was a physical one that saw the teams combine for 25 fouls, including 14 in the first half. There were also three yellow cards issued before halftime.

"The referee allowed the game to flow and play and the boys had to step up and they ultimately did," Mililani co-head coach Steve McGehee said. "They had to fight for everything that they got."

A miscue by the Hurricanes' ultimately led to the only goal of the game. Kapolei goalkeeper Aldo Ramirez-Hernandez charged an oncoming ball, as was a Mililani forward. Ramirez-Hernandez got to the ball first and batted it away, but he was deemed to be outside the 18-yard box and because it was a scoring opportunity for the Trojans, he was given a yellow card and sent off — forcing a reserve keeper to enter the game.

Mililani's Marc Matas took the ensuing direct kick, which deflected off a wall of Kapolei players and found Ishikawa, who dribbled a low right-footed shot from the left side of the goal to the right of the goalie.

"It was opportunistic and I'm glad that it went in," McGehee said. "We worked on trying to get good looks and the ball bounced to him and it made it in somehow."

Ishikawa said the goal came at a critical time in the match, just minutes before halftime.

"I was lucky to get the deflection off the wall and just hit it in," said Ishikawa, a senior. "It boosted our morale a lot after that."

Kapolei trailed 1-0 at halftime, but kept Mililani goalkeeper Robin Potts busy in the second. Six of the Hurricanes' nine shots on goal came after the intermission.

"They are a strong team, but we didn't care what the score was," Potts said. "We just kept playing and playing and kept thinking to ourselves that it was 0-0, so we fought to the end."

In the 57th minute, Kapolei's Shandon Hopeau went quick on a direct kick from about 20 yards out. He played a through-ball to teammate CJ Harvey, whose ensuing shot just missed right. About seven minutes later, the Hurricanes had another golden scoring opportunity — and appeared to capitalize when a ball ricocheted off the crossbar and just over the end line — but a Kapolei player was called offsides. The Hurricanes were whistled for being offsides three times for the game.

"It was pretty tough because they came strong in the second half after that goal," Ishikawa said. "We were lucky to come away with the win."

In the 72nd minute, the Trojans failed to clear the ball when a Kapolei corner kick bounced around the goalie box and worse, Potts was injured on the play when he took an inadvertent kick to the throat. Ultimately, the Trojans cleared the ball and Potts remained in the game after a few anxious moments.

"It wasn't easy — it was hard — but we worked together as a team and we pulled it out," Potts said.

McGehee said a lot hinged on the game, including postseason implications for both teams.

"It's always stressful playing Kapolei, they're a quality team and we expect nothing but a tough game everytime we play them," McGehee said. "In the scope of things, we looked at our schedule when it was released and knew that our first three games would be tough because of who our competition was and coming into this game, our mindset was to just prepare to this game and then we'll worry about the rest of the season. We really spent a lot of time getting ready mentally and physically for this."