Mililani's Jarad Choquette scored off a cross from Isaiah Manding in the 36th minute against Kalani. Greg Yamamoto | SL

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Mililani players celebrate after defeating Kalani to win the Division I state title. Scott Nishi | SL

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Sat, Feb 28, 2015 @ Waipio

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Mililani

1

Kalani

0

Final	1st	2nd	OT	2OT	PK	Tot
Mililani (15-1-0)	1	0	-	-	-	1
Kalani (14-2-1)	0	0	-	-	-	0

SEASON LEADERS

Takahiro Kosins 16 goals

Kalahikiola Judd 15 goals

WAIPAHU — Mililani is once again king of the pitch.

Jarad Choquette scored the lone goal in the title game of the Outrigger Resorts/Hawaii High School Athletic Association Division I Boys Soccer State Championships to lift Mililani to a 1-0 win over Kalani Saturday night.

A crowd of about 1,300 fans at the Waipio Peninsula Soccer Complex saw the Trojans — who won their final 10 games and finished with a 15-1 record — lay claim to their sixth state crown in school history and first since 2012.

"It was another hard battle," said senior fullback Jeron Cunningham, who was named the tournament's Most Outstanding Player. "This was a huge test for us to become champions and I'm grateful for my team and how hard they held up and how hard they played. It was a great win for us."

Choquette, a senior forward, found the back of the net in the 36th minute. The play started in the midfield with MJ Matas, who found Isaiah Manding making a run along the right wing. Manding took the ball near the end line before sending a cross into the box for Choquette, who put it away with his left foot on the one-timer.

"I just saw MJ receive the ball, dribble it a little bit and he played it out to Isaiah on the wide and he just crossed it in and luckily I was there," said Choquette, who has seven goals on the season. "It was just reaction."

Manding did not start the match, but was ready for his moment when he was called upon.

"MJ played me a nice ball and I just did what all my boys and the coaches told me to do: just keep calm, keep my head in the game, just focus on what I'm doing, take my time and don't even pressure out," Manding said. "That's basically what I did and I saw Jarad making the run, so I put it where it needed to be."

Mililani coach Steve McGehee said he was very wary of Michael Stafford, Kalani's standout goalkeeper who made three spectacular saves during a seven-round penalty-kick session in a semifinal win over Iolani Friday.

"I had this weird feeling that the only way we would beat Mike Stafford — who is probably the keeper in the state — is to get him moving his feet and that was going to come from a cross and that's what happened," McGehee said. "We got the ball wide and we were able to get it in and get our goal."

It was just one of two shots on goal the Trojans had all game.

"I actually thought we played better than we played in the OIA championship game, so I'm pretty proud of our boys, but I was joking with Steve that they find a way to put a goal in," said Kalani coach Michael Ching, whose team fell to Mililani, 1-0 in double-overtime, in the Oahu Interscholastic Association title game back on Feb. 7. "I thought we outplayed them in the first half and yet we had one breakdown and they capitalized."

The Falcons had a good look on goal in the 13th minute, when Kyle Ichiyama served a ball into the box, which a teammate got a foot on. The shot got by Trojans' goalie JP Carson, but sophomore fullback Jamin Fonseca deflected it near the end line to keep the match scoreless.

"I guess the nerves kind of go to me playing in my first state final and I misjudged the ball and it bounced in the box, but luckily (Fonseca) was there to bail me out and then after that I kind of settled in," Carson said, who made nine saves on the night. "I owe it all to my defense. They let very few, if any, shots come back at me, so they make my job a lot easier."

Kalani had six shots on goal, three times as many as Mililani did.

"(Ching) had his guys ready to play today," McGehee said of the Falcons. "They put us under so much pressure. Our defense and JP Carson just played lights out. They left it on the field and that's all I asked them to do."

The Trojans outscored their three state-tournament opponents by a margin of 6 to 2. For the season, they scored 56 goals and allowed just five.

"Our defense was amazing tonight and all season," Manding said. "They're the backbone of our team."

Fonseca, Choquette and Isaiah Kuloloia joined Cunningham on the All-Tournament team.

Kalani, which fell to 14-2-2 with the loss, was represented by Rudi McClellan, Garrison Nakamura and Stafford on the All-Tournament Team.

The game was also a rematch of the 2012 state final, which Mililani won, 3-0.

The Falcons were seeking their first state championship since 2013.

It was just seventh time in the 41-year history of the pre-classification/D1 state tournament that two non-Interscholastic League of Honolulu teams met for the title.

Division I All-Tournament Team
Christopher Brubaker, Punahou
Max Ching, Iolani
Jarad Choquette, Mililani
Jamin Fonseca, Mililani
Bennett Ho, Punahou
Spencer Ho, Iolani
Isaiah Kuloloia, Mililani
Rudi McClellan, Kalani
Garrison Nakamura, Kalani
Jet Toner, Punahou
Goalkeeper: Michael Stafford, Kalani
Most Outstanding Player: Jeron Cunningham, Mililani