Mililani's Noah Fujikane (12) found the back of the net with his header off an assist from Justin Tilton in the 69th minute of Tuesday night's OIA West boys soccer match against Kapolei. The Trojans went on to score an insurance goal in the final minute of the 2-0 win over the Hurricanes. Brian Bautista | SL

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Tue, Feb 1, 2022 @ Mililani

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Kapolei

0

Mililani

2

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

N. Fujikane (69’)   W. Simpson (80’)

MILILANI — Noah Fujikane's header in the 69th minute broke a scoreless tie and helped host Mililani to a 2-0 win over Kapolei in an Oahu Interscholastic Association boys soccer match at John Kauinana Stadium Tuesday night. 

The Trojans, ranked fourth in the ScoringLive/Hawaiian Electric Power Rankings, improved to 9-0 with their sixth consecutive shutout and seventh overall, while the fifth-ranked Hurricanes were dealt their first loss and fell to 9-1 in their regular-season finale. 

"I guess this is another Kapolei-Mililani battle for the ages," said Mililani coach Steven McGehee, whose team can secure the Western Division's No. 1 seed in the upcoming OIA tournament with a tie or win Friday at Nanakuli. 

McGehee's squad had six shots on goal to just one for Kapolei, which was shut out for the first time all year. The Trojans made use of their depth — they list 25 players on the team roster — with 23 substitutions. 

"It's senior night so it made it very interesting trying to rotate as many guys in as I could," McGehee noted. 

The Hurricanes, by comparison, used just six subs. They were also quite conservative with their style of play, choosing to pack it in on defense with minimal on-ball pressure beyond midfield. 

"A little bit," McGehee said when asked if he was surprised by Kapolei's defensive nature Tuesday. "But I think it's really that we dictated it a little more than in past seasons, where we were underneath the gun and had to defend more, so this year was our turn to run at ‘em a little bit."

Mililani had a number of chances from the 24th to 26th minutes, but was unable to get a shot on goal despite back-to-back-to-back corner kicks. In the 30th minute, Will Simpson made a run down the right flank before he crossed it to Max Scott, who had an open look on goal but was unable to put his shot on frame. 

It wasn't until the final seconds of the first half that either team recorded a shot on goal. Simpson worked his way free against a trio of defenders to get off a right-footed shot from about 12 yards out, but Kapolei goalkeeper Ciano Pham made the save to keep the clean sheet intact. 

Pham made another stellar stop about seven minutes into the second half. After the ‘Canes were called for a handball in the box, the Trojans were awarded a penalty kick. However, Pham made a diving save on the PK to preserve the scoreless tie. 

"That keeper is good; He stoned us time and time again and that's what we gotta get geared for," McGehee said. "I mean, we know this game's never going to be easy; they have quality players and we have quality players and we just need to show up."

Kapolei had its best scoring opportunity in the 61st minute, when a defensive miscue by Mililani's backline gave Elijah Hines — the ‘Canes' leading goal scorer — a one-on-one look against the goalie, but Joseph Pannetta managed a clutch save of his own. It was his lone save in 75 minutes between the posts; fellow-senior Kainalu Smith played the final five minutes in goal. 

About seven minutes later, the Trojans registered another shot on goal when Andre Estaniqui fired a solidly-struck ball from about 20 yards on frame, but Pham denied them once more with his sixth save of the night. 

"In the first half we just stayed with it, be patient," Fujikane said. "We knew our chances would come in the second half and it paid off."

Only a minute after Estaniqui was denied, Fujikane would not be. The goal started with Estaniqui's corner kick, which found the head of Justin Tilton on the back post. Tilton sent the ball in the direction of Fujikane on the front post, who headed it in for the goal — his third of the year. 

"It was actually really good the redirect bringing it back across for Noah to score, was the most impressive part of it," McGehee said. "(Kapolei has) such good defenders and such height in the back that we knew we were gonna have to do something special to score against them."

The Trojans had worked on the set piece many a-time in practice, Fujikane revealed. 

"I mean, we went over it how many times in practice already so I knew when Justin got it, the back post is gonna serve it back in so I was just ready (and) the ball went straight to me," he said. 

Simpson, a forward, said that the team made an adjustment at halftime to play the ball wide rather than in the middle of the field. 

"They had five backs and they kept three center-backs really tight, so most of the game in the first half I was up high and I really wasn't getting the ball, but then we found out playing diagonal balls and attacking their wings — on their outside-backs they're isolated — so we tried that and then our set pieces, that's how we scored our first goal, so we ended up unlocking that in the second half," Simpson explained. 

Mililani added an insurance goal in the final minute with Simpson's PK, which was set-up when Estaniqui drew a Kapolei foul in the box. 

"We've been building up for games like this all season and we were lucky enough to be successful at the end," McGehee said. 

The Trojans and Hurricanes will both have a bye in the first-round of the 12-team OIA Division I tournament and will need to win just one game to earn one of the league's six state tournament berths.