Aiea stuns East top-seed Kaiser, Kapolei marches on to semis

Greg Yamamoto | SL

Aiea reached the semifinals of the OIA Division I playoffs with a stunning 1-0 defeat of East top-seed Kaiser, the first shutout of the Cougars this season.

Kelly Takara scored what would ultimately be the game-winning goal in the 62nd minute, heading in a perfectly placed corner kick by Konner Jacang with authority into the back of the net.

The set piece score by the Na Alii changed the tone of the game almost instantly, as the home team Cougars racheted up the offensive pressure, sending midfielder Ian Ngonethong into the attacking half much more than at any other point in the match previous.

Down the stretch, it was kind of bend-but-not-break for Aiea, buoyed by the play of keeper Colin Johnson and some strong back line play by Jacang.

Kaiser may have actually had more scoring chances in the match as a whole, but the tempo of the contest seemed to go more at Aiea's pace, with almost non-stop pressure applied to force the Cougars to make a pass or a dribble just a beat faster.

That tempo disruption definitely worked, as Kaiser showed some much less precision in the attacking half than usual.

Aiea's win over Kaiser assured a state tourney berth for Na Alii. Kaiser needs one more win in order to secure a spot in the Division I tourney, which it can earn with a win over Kailua on Wednesday.

Kapolei downs Kailua, 4-0, to reach league semifinals

Four different players netted scores for the Hurricanes in a shutout win over Kailua in the first game of the evening at Kaiser High School.

Elijah Hines, Noah Anderson, and Riley Baksic scored a goal each in the first hlaf, and Jordan Nobe put the finishing touches on the win with a goal late in the second for Kapolei.