Hawaiian Electric Game of the Week
Trojans, Falcons to face off for state crown




The title match of the Outrigger Resorts/Hawaii High School Athletic Association Division I Boys Soccer State Championships will feature a pair of familiar foes.

Oahu Interscholastic Association-members Mililani and Kalani will meet for the second time in a span of four weeks — this time for all the marbles.

The Trojans (14-1) handed the Falcons (14-1-1) their lone loss of the year in the OIA championship match, which was only decided in the 94th minute on Jamin Fonseca's goal in double overtime back on Feb. 7.

"They're a known commodity and we're a known commodity to them, so we have a lot of history," Mililani coach Steve McGehee said of the Falcons. "The tournaments have tended to go through the two of us over the last few years, so it's kind of a rubber match of sorts."

Mililani, which has 14 seniors on its roster, had a first-round bye before beating Kahuku, 4-2, in a quarterfinal last Saturday and topping Punahou, 1-0, in Friday's semifinal round.

Senior Kalahikiola Judd leads the Trojans in scoring with 15 goals this season. Jarad Choquette and Graham Pangilinan have netted six goals apiece and MJ Matas and Jeron Cunningham have contributed five goals each. Cunningham had the lone goal in the semifinal victory over Punahou.

"We played them in the OIA finals. I think they're more similar to us (than Punahou)," Kalani coach Michael Ching said prior to the final result of the Mililani-Punahou match. "They sit deep, which makes it harder to score off of set pieces."

Kalani, which had its eight-match winning streak snapped by the Trojans in the OIA final, is unseeded in the 12-team tournament and has played three state matches to Mililani's two entering Saturday's championship.

The Falcons traveled to Maui last week for the first two rounds of the tournament. They beat Moanalua, 3-0, in a first-round game and held off fourth-seeded Kamehameha-Maui, 2-1, in a quarterfinal match played on the Warriors' home field in Pukalani, before edging by defending state-champion Iolani, 1-0, in penalty kicks Friday.

Junior Takahiro Kosins has recorded a team-high 16 goals for Kalani. Senior Marc Teshima has seven goals on the year, senior William Pineda-Abaya five and junior Rudi McClellan three.

"I have a feeling both teams left it all on the field, so it's going to be about who wants it more tomorrow," McGehee said. "The great thing is with the tournament the way it's set up, it's not three games or four games (in a week), it's two games, so there should be juice in the tank left for both teams."

Mililani won four straight state titles from 2001 to 2004 and again in 2012, while Kalani captured its lone state championship in 2013.

"I expect probably another close game," Ching said. "We're going to be in for another fight."

Kickoff between the Trojans and Falcons is slated for 7 p.m. at the Waipio Peninsula Soccer Complex main stadium and will follow the 5 p.m. Division II final between second-seeded Kamehameha-Hawaii and defending champion Mid-Pacific, the No. 1 seed.



Reach Kalani Takase at [email protected].




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