Tia Furuta capped an incredible comeback Saturday night with a late goal, giving Mililani a 3-2 upset of top-seeded Punahou in the Division I quarterfinals of the Ohana Hotels/HHSAA Girls Soccer State Championships.
The Trojans (13-1-1) advance to play Friday in the semifinals against BIIF champion Konawaena at Waipio Peninsula Soccer Stadium.
The Buffanblu (10-2-1) were in command 2-0 at halftime, but Mililani found extra motivation at the break and came out for the second 40 minutes with conviction.
"It’s like a dream, eh?" Trojans coach Ray Akiona said after the game. "When we scored our first goal, it really lifted us up. Like, you never believe you can score against Punahou, but then when we did, we knew it was possible and we knew we had a chance. They (the Buffanblu) kept coming and coming at us (after the Trojans tied it and took the lead) and didn’t give us a break."
Kasey Isobe started the Mililani rally in the 48th minute with a perfectly placed pass down the right corner to Jayna Morikawa, who made a cross to Furuta.
After a mishit by Furuta, the ball rolled across the crease and the Buffanblu’s Kailey Totherow accidentally knocked it into her own goal.
Just a minute later, Morikawa headed Malia Napoleon’s direct kick in for a 2-all game. In a foot race, Morikawa beat Punahou goalkeeper Noe Kong-Johnson to the ball by a split second.
Trojans halfback Mikiala Ramos-Kamaka started the attack that led to the winning goal in the 76th minute. She passed to center midfielder Kayla Braunthal, who found Morikawa in the right corner. Morikawa sent a bounding cross to Furuta, who settled it, dribbled to her right, and sent a low shot into the net on the left side of Kong-Johnson.
"It feels so amazing," Furuta said. "I’m so proud of our team. We … they deserved it. We are all really emotional about this. This was the big game where we wanted to prove to everyone we could do it. We have to stay humble and work hard. There’s only a week left."
Punahou scored on two set pieces in the first half. Anuenue Zoller drilled a 45-yard direct kick that caromed off Mililani ‘keeper Andrea Kernagy and then hit the crossbar before dropping down across the goal line for a 1-0 lead in the 22nd minute.
Fifteen minutes later, Totherow made it 2-0 with a 31-yard direct kick that Kernagy also got her hands on before the ball bounded into the netting high in the left corner.
Mililani’s defenders warded off several late Buffanblu chances before the final whistle.
Punahou huddled for about 10 minutes after the loss.
"We talked about the journey we had with this team and that journey we took is better than winning the state championship," midfielder True Dydasco said. "Yes, it sucks to lose, but we learned how to play together better as the season went on and we shared a lot of great memories."
"It was a teachable moment," Punahou coach Starr Johnson said. "I wanted them to remember the true value of the season and put it in perspective in the grand scheme of things. Most everyone (in the huddle) said this is the most supportive team they’ve ever been on. I didn’t want them to go out with just tears.
"Soccer is a game of few chances and we didn’t put away the chances that were presented to us," she added about the close loss.
Campbell 3, Pearl City 2, PKs
The Sabers fought back from a two-goal deficit to tie it 2-2, and then after two overtimes, finished off the Chargers by winning 5-3 on penalty kicks.
With a 3-2 lead on PKs, Campbell goalkeeper Kiley Haraguchi dashed right to stop Pearl City’s Randi Fontes’ shot.
A few minutes later, with a 4-3 PK lead, the Sabers’ Aryanna Cabudol stepped up and knocked one into the low left corner.
The Sabers meet ‘Iolani in Friday’s semifinals.
Pearl City went up 2-0 with goals by Piper Collado and Nikki Suwa in the fourth and 43rd minutes. Aliani Lorenzo scored for the Sabers to make it 2-1 in the 46th minute, and then Cabudol tied it with a goal on a 21-yard direct kick in the 80th minute.
BIG ISLAND SUBREGIONAL
No. 4 Konawaena 2, Kaiser 0
Kililani Kunitomo scored in the 29th minute and Nikki Kunitomo added an insurance goal in the 59th minute as the fourth-seeded Wildcats defeated the Cougars in a quarterfinal at Konawaena.
With the win, the Wildcats move to Friday’s semifinal at 7 p.m. against Mililani at Waipio Peninsula Soccer Stadium.
‘Iolani 1, No. 3 Baldwin 0
Megan Goo scored in the 48th minute to lift the Raiders past the Bears and into the semifinals.
‘Iolani will play Campbell at 5 p.m. on Friday at Waipio.
Consolation
Kahuku 0, Moanalua 0
Kamehameha-Maui 3, Waiakea 1
Goal scorers–KSM: Josephine Medeiros, Kamalei Roback, Brandy Takiguchi. Waiak–Kiana Serrao.
