A relentless early attack yielded one goal and Mililani held on to beat Campbell 1-0 in an OIA West boys soccer match Friday at Kauinana Stadium.
In the seventh minute, the Trojans’ Kala Judd threaded a pass to Marc Matas, who blasted a shot off Campbell goalkeeper Pono Turner. Judd zoomed in and drilled the rebound high into the net.
Little did anyone know that would be the only goal of the match. Sandwiched around that goal were two post-clanging shots by Mililani’s Jarad Choquette, and the high-flying Trojans offense showed no signs of slowing down until the second half.
"Just get it in," said Judd, when asked what he was thinking when he saw the ball in perfect position for the strike. "The first half we had high intensity and kind of had a letdown after that. But overall, we got the job done."
Trojans coach Steve McGehee, who is in his first season as head coach after taking over for Jeff Yamamoto, was glad his team bounced back after Tuesday’s 1-0 loss to Kapolei.
He was even happier that — due to Mililani’s inability to score again — the Trojans defense didn’t make a mistake.
"We didn’t get sloppy and start making fouls," he said. "And we controlled what Campbell was able to do."
Jeron Cunningham and Aukahi Nolan were among the Mililani defenders putting a stop to the Sabers’ thrusts.
Miliani improved to 6-1 and still trails first-place Pearl City in the standings. Campbell fell to 3-2-1.
"We started slow and that tends to kill us," Sabers coach Randy White said. "We definitely could have played better. We played too defensively in the first half."
Campbell fullback Chay Mattos, who put in a standout effort, said the Sabers were not prepared for Mililani’s speed on the Kauinana turf.
"We definitely were not ready for this fast of a pace and it took us out of our game early," Mattos said. "We should have calmed down. Too much running and we got tired out."
Mililani continued peppering the Sabers in the second half, but couldn’t put it in. Elijah Sinykin, Spencer Hokama and Thomas Kuriyama had in-close chances that were thwarted by the Campbell defense and Turner.
Mililani keeper JP Carson was not tested much.
Late in the game, Campbell’s Curtis Turner intercepted a Mililani pass deep in Trojans territory, but his 20-yard shot was easily handled by Carson.
VARSITY BOYS
Waianae 3, Waipahu 1
Kapolei 13, Aiea 1
Leilehua 4, Nanakuli 0
Pearl City 3, Waialua 0
Mililani 1, Campbell 0
Goal scorers–KAP: Shandon Hopeau 4, Garrison Lee 3, Quinn Thierbach 2, Tanner Ritchey 2, Robert Bootes, Jason Catron. AIEA: Dustin Kawamura. PC: