It’s that time of year again when Mililani soccer players band together to get their hair dyed blond. It’s also a time when the Trojans begin an assault on high school supremacy.
Mililani started the last leg of that quest on Monday in the Division I first round of The Queen’s Medical Center/HHSAA Boys Soccer State Championships with a 5-1 home victory over Campbell. The Trojans are trying to get back the title they won in 2015 that was taken away by Punahou last year.
“We were able to execute on our finishing, which was important to us,” Mililani coach Steve McGehee said. “We’ve got to get ready for the next game. Our possession wasn’t as strong as it should be. Campbell worked hard and put some pressure on us, but we should be able to handle that pressure (better), top to bottom, even if we’re rotating guys in and out.”
Early in the game, the Sabers failed to clear away a dangerous bounding ball in the goal box and Mililani’s Chad Uyejo headed it home for a 1-0 lead.
The Sabers barely missed tying at 1-all when David Paul Tupper’s direct kick hit the crossbar and Kale Gonzales kicked it into the goal. But the effort was nullified because the ball, after hitting the soccer crossbar, went a few feet above to ricochet off the yellow football crossbar before falling to the ground.
Midway through the first half, Mililani (12-1-1) made it 2-0. This time, a 35-yard direct kick by Trey Yogi was headed into the goal by Hudson Zeisman.
“If our goalies keep doing what they’re doing and not letting the ball go in the net, then we’ll go far,” Zeisman said. “It’s going to get tougher every game. We just gotta tighten up possession, tighten up finishing and every opportunity has to get in the back of the net.”
Coaches often tell their players to line up on the far post on a direct kick, and that’s just what Kekoa Kulolia did for Mililani’s next goal late in the first half, tapping in Richard Potts’ 40-yarder for a 3-0 bulge.
Tupper notched Campbell’s only goal for a 3-1 count on a penalty kick after Mililani was called for an infraction in the box with time running out in the first half.
The Trojans’ back line of Potts, Kawika Zarko and Trystan Wright put the clamps down on the Campbell offense in the second half.
Mililani nearly added its fourth goal early in the second half, but Sabers goalkeeper Josiah Nakoa robbed Zarko on an in-close header. A few minutes later at the other end, Trojans keeper Rusty Crowder corralled a 28-yard missile from Tupper.
The Trojans scored twice in the second half. Zeisman pulled through with his second goal of the game midway through the final 40 minutes, zipping through the Campbell defense and depositing the ball into the low left corner. A few minutes later, Darnell Williams got in some face time. He scored to make it 5-1 when a heavy-duty clearing kick by Campbell’s Nakoa bounded off his face and into the goal.
The Oahu Interscholastic Association runner-up and unseeded Trojans move on to play Maui Interscholastic League champion and third-seeded Baldwin (9-0-3) in the quarterfinals Thursday at Waipio Peninsula Soccer Park. The Sabers’ season is over at 9-6. Mililani is going for a seventh state championship to add to the crowns it captured in 2001, ’02, ’03, ’04, ’12 and ’15.
Kaiser 6, Hilo 0
Yuki Enomoto scored in the first minute and Makana Srivongsana scored twice as the Cougars (12-1-1) routed the Vikings (7-5).
Noah Mokulehua, Motoki Sato and Spencer Burcham also scored for Kaiser.
Punahou 2, Kalani 0
Dane Mizuno and Micah Williams scored goals as the Buffanblu (10-2-2) ousted the Falcons (8-4-2).
Pearl City 2, King Kekaulike 1, 2 OT
Daniel Woo booted in the game-winner in the 96th minute, propelling the Chargers (12-2-1) past Na Alii (9-3-1).
Luke Wyman also scored for Pearl City, while Dylan Gomes tallied for Na Alii.
DIVISION II TOURNAMENT
Play-in match
Makua Lani 1, Waianae 0
Goal scorer—ML: DJ Madigan.
