Roosevelt reclaims the OIA D2 title over Waialua

CJ Caraang | SL

KAPOLEI — Roosevelt jumped out to an early lead and never looked back to blow by Waialua, 4-1, in the Oahu Interscholastic Association Division II championship game at Kapolei Stadium Saturday night.

The East top-seeded Rough Riders (8-2-2) captured their second title in three years, their third overall.

"It feels really good," said senior goalkeeper Todd Takeno, who was a key contributor in the Rough Riders' run in 2014. "Since I'm a senior it makes it all the more special. I really wanted to win this one to bring the title back."

Noah Aghdasi notched his second goal of the season in the 3rd minute to put Roosevelt up early in the match. Aghdasi received a pass from Dillon Yamamoto and navigated his way into the 18-yard box from the right side of the field, scoring with a low, right-footed shot that went past the goalkeeper in the left side of the net.

"That brought up our spirits," Roosevelt coach Francis Pena said on the early score. "We either had to hold it or we didn't have to chase a goal. I think that helped us a lot."

Roosevelt led Waialua (5-6-1) by one score at the break before scoring the first three goals of the second half to put the game out of reach.

The Rough Riders also prevented the West top-seeded Bulldogs from registering a score until the 77th minute on a penalty kick by Ethan Grubbs. Out of the 12 shots on goal that Waialua took, only two attempts needed a save from Takeno.

"Defense did really well today," said Taken. "We had them and we made a lot of stops. There weren't too many shots that were on target. We really locked down and held them to one goal."

Roosevelt doubled its lead in the 47th minute on Chad Morishige's assist to Brandon Sunderland. Morishige dribbled 50 yards through the heart of the Waialua defense before flipping it ahead to Sunderland, who got it past the goalkeeper outside the 6-yard box.

"I was open at the right place at the right time and I just shot it," said Sunderland. "I thought it was going to go over the post, but it went in and I was super happy."

Seiko Nguyen padded the Rough Riders' lead on a penalty kick in the box in the 57th minute. Temujin Greywolf got his first goal of the season in the 73rd minute to cap the Roosevelt scoring.

"I think they just played well as a team," said Pena. "We don't have an all-star person, but we have a great team bond."

Waialua coach John Rosa said that the early deficit affected his players in the game.

"It shot us down a little," he said. "They just lost focus on what they're supposed to do. Unfortunately it just happens. We just need to work a little bit more on our communication. I don't know what happen. We just fell apart. It shouldn't have happened like that."

The two teams will represent the OIA in the Queen's Medical Center/Hawaii High School Athletic Association Division II Boys Soccer Championships, which begin on Feb. 25.