Mililani players celebrate following their 2-1 win over Kapolei in Saturday night's OIA Division I championship final at Alvin Nagasako Sports Complex. It is the Trojans' 17th league title and first since 2015. Greg Yamamoto | SL

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Sat, Feb 19, 2022 @ Kapolei

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Kapolei

1

Mililani

2

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

E. Hines (80’)   X. Tamashiro (32’)   K. Martin (37’)

KAPOLEI — Back on top. 

After a title drought of six years, the top-ranked Mililani boys soccer team snatched its 17th league championship with a 2-1 win over No. 7 Kapolei in the final game of the Oahu Interscholastic Association Division I tournament Saturday night. 

Xander Tamashiro and Kai Martin scored goals for the Trojans (13-0), in the 32nd and 37th minutes, respectively, before a crowd of about 600 fans at Kapolei's Alvin Nagasako Sports Complex. 

"We worked extra hard for this and it just feels nice to bring it home for the community," said Tamashiro, a junior midfielder. "We just worked super hard and it paid off."

It was Mililani's first appearance in the OIA final since the 2019 championship, when it lost to Kapolei by a score of 3-0. 

"The boys have worked hard all season long and this is kind of the fruits of their labor," Trojans coach Steve McGehee said. 

Saturday's match was also the second meeting between the Western Division foes this year. Mililani blanked Kapolei, 2-0, in the regular season, back on Feb. 1 — but this one wasn't anything like the first time around. 

"You know, a typical Kapolei team — really scrappy, strong, organized — (but) a lot different from the first game we played ‘em," McGehee said. "They were ready for us today."

The Hurricanes (11-2) had the better run of play during the first quarter or so of the match. They registered the game's first shot on goal on an Elijah Hines' corner kick just three minutes in. Only a minute later, they appeared to take the lead — which would have been the only deficit the Trojans have faced all year — on another Hines' corner, but Noah Anderson's header at the back post barely went over the crossbar and just missed going in by a few feet. 

"Yeah, that was definitely really scary," Tamashiro said of the near-goal. 

"They did put us under pressure," McGehee said of the ‘Canes, who were coming off of a win in PKs over Aiea Thursday. "They had a game plan and they were doing very well with it for that first twenty to twenty-five minutes."

McGehee called the fourth-minute header by Kapolei a bit of a wake-up call. 

"A little bit. I think that it was just kind of settling the nerves. The teams that we've faced all season long have always been strong, (but) it's can we wear them down and can we cause problems?," he said. "And that's kind of what happened toward that latter part of that first half. 

After Anderson's narrow miss, the game became more physical with fewer scoring opportunities. That is, until the 32nd minute, when Tamashiro broke the scoreless tie with his second goal of the year — the other came in Thursday's 3-1 semifinal win over Kalani. 

"I won a fifty-fifty (ball) and I shouldered the ball to my forward, Nick (Kashiwai)," Tamashiro recalled. "Nick gets a nice set to Keegan (McGehee), our mid, and I just seen an open lane and I just ran right through it, screamed for the ball, got it — nice pass by Keegan — and then I just collected it and had a composed finish on goal."

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Only five minutes after Tamashiro scored, Martin powered a shot through the hands of the Kapolei goalkeeper and into the net to make it a 2-0 lead for Mililani.

"Seth (Uson) had the ball on the flank around (midfield), he saw me call for the ball, yelling for the ball from the opposite side," Martin said. "He saw me, he just tried to hit it, Will (Simpson) almost got up to it, but the defender was right behind him so he couldn't get a clean touch on it so I just followed up with a volley behind with a good touch," 

It was Martin's 11th goal of the season, which ranks him second on the team behind Max Scott's dozen goals. 

Tamashiro said that the Trojans had to overcome some nerves during those first 20 minutes or so. 

"You know, everybody's got a lot of adrenaline, but then we just settled down and played our own game and that's what changed," he said.  

Martin said that a change in style of play for the ‘Canes from a heavy-defensive emphasis in the last game to a more balanced look Saturday also took some time to get a feel for.

"We saw that they changed their play since the first time that we played them," said Martin, a sophomore forward. "The first time that we played them, they would just boot it up to their striker, but then when we started to get a feel of the game we started to keep the ball more and move the ball and find the gaps in between and find our first goal."

Mililani had a chance to add to its lead just before halftime, but Kapolei goalkeeper Ciano Pham denied Scott twice on shots just seconds apart. 

The Trojans held a 2-0 lead at halftime. 

Kapolei had a couple of chances after the break on wide runs when the ball got behind a Mililani defender, but each time a quality scoring opportunity never materialized — largely due to the play of the Trojans' backline of center-backs Seth Uson and Parker Patterson, along with left-back Mau Uiagalelei and right-back Isaiah Viloria. 

"Our defense is like our unsung heroes," Tamashiro said. "They step up every game and do well night in and night out."

Martin agreed, "Our defense is really the foundation of our team."

"They've been stellar all season long," Steve McGehee affirmed. 

With under a minute to play, Mililani was whistled for a foul in the box and Kapolei was subsequently awarded a penalty kick. Hines, the team's leading scorer, converted the PK into the right side of the goal to foil the shutout for the Trojans, who have allowed four goals this season — two of them coming on PKs in the final minutes of playoff wins over Kalani and Kapolei this week. 

"Yeah, I mean, it's unfortunate we gave another PK away late, but, you know, at this point we're happy where we are," McGehee said. "We finished where we wanted to be and we're happy with that."

Mililani had four shots on goal — all of them before halftime — and tallied four of its five corner kicks after the intermission. 

Kapolei was limited to one shot on goal and three corner kicks. 

Pham made two saves in goal for the ‘Canes, while the Trojans' Joseph Panetta turned back the only shot he faced between the posts. 

Four of the eight goals Kapolei has allowed this season have been by Mililani. 

The Trojans reached the title game following a first-round bye Monday, a 5-0 quarterfinal win over Kahuku Tuesday and a 3-1 semifinal victory over No. 6 Kalani Thursday.  

The Hurricanes — who were seeded second out of the West behind the Trojans — were seeking a third straight OIA championship, fourth in five seasons and sixth overall. They also had a bye Monday, then beat Kailua 4-0 Tuesday and outlasted Aiea in penalty kicks 2-2 (4-2 PKs) Thursday.

Both teams previously qualified for the Niu Health Urgent Care/HHSAA Division I Boys Soccer State Championships, which gets underway on Feb. 28. 

Mililani will have a seeded berth and first-round bye and will open tournament play in the quarterfinal round on March 3.