Mililani’s Leoso saves the day

Mililani goalkeeper Tasalina Leoso had to gather herself and wipe away tears before answering.

"It’s like a lot of pressure," she said. "The whole team is hoping you do good and you just hope that you don’t let them down."

With her team gathered on both the sideline and at midfield, Leoso saved three consecutive shots in a penalty-kick shootout to help the Trojans advance to the OIA Red championship with a victory over Moanalua on Thursday evening at Kaiser Stadium.

The two teams played to a scoreless tie after two regulation periods and two 10-minute overtimes, forcing a shootout to decide the winner.

Seniors Brooke Yoshimura, Shyani Terukina and Alisha Miyashiro all converted their shots for the Trojans, while Leoso stopped two consecutive shots before the third went wide left of the net, earning Mililani a trip to the title game against Kaiser tonight at 7 on the Cougars’ field.

"Both teams came out really hard against each other and played really clean," Mililani coach Ray Akiona said. "To come out on top like that in a game like this against a really good team like Moanalua is a feather in our cap."

The Trojans (11-0-1) had won three consecutive OIA Red titles before losing to Na Menehue (10-2) in last year’s semifinal. They finished fourth in the OIA but placed third in states. With a victory tonight, Mililani can earn that important first-round bye that goes to the OIA champion.

"I think we need to show a little more composure and be able to link up together better as a team," Akiona said.

Scoring chances were at a premium as both teams struggled to find many good looks.

One of Mililani’s better chances came in the opening minute of the game when a defender slipped, allowing Kailana Kaeo a free run.

However, just as she looked to get loose, she also slipped on a field that was dotted with brown dirt patches, making things even tougher.

Mililani outshot Moanalua 14-3 and had two good looks go just over the crossbar.

In overtime, Na Menehune nearly had a ball from 35 yards out go over Leoso’s head.

It slammed into the upper left corner and bounced back into the box before Mililani eventually cleared it.

Outside of that, Leoso was barely tested as her defense did a good job of keeping her rested for the eventual shootout.

"My defense is very outstanding," Leoso said. "They know how to work together and have been playing together for a long time."