Mililani still rules the OIA with its 20th OIA girls soccer title

It was a first half of frustration for the Mililani girls soccer team Saturday against Moanalua.

The second half was a much happier and typical story for the Trojans.

Jaeda Edayan and I‘ai Maafala scored nine minutes apart in the second half and Mari Ige added a goal as Mililani beat Moanalua 3-0 in the OIA Division I tournament final at Kaiser.

“We recognized we were having opportunities,” said Mililani coach Darren Smith. “It was just finding that last linking pass or the last linking run. At halftime we were able to calm down, regain our focus and do what we needed to do in the second half.”

Mililani, a 20-time OIA champion, earned the league’s seeded berth and will receive a first-round bye at the Motiv8 Foundation Girls Division I Soccer Championships, which start Jan. 30. Moanalua, Campbell, Pearl City, Waipahu and Kapolei also will represent the OIA in the 12-team tournament.

“It’s very exciting because we believe we have a really good roster, we always do every year,” Edayan said. “This year we feel really strong and the seniors, especially me, are really excited to get this opportunity again.”

Mililani, the West’s top seed, had outscored its previous opponents 81-3. Mililani and Moanalua, the East’s top seed, both had one shot on goal in a rather mild first half.

“The first half, it was a little bit of a struggle to get through the midline, but we were able to put all the pieces together and we were able to build through our backline really well,” Maafala said.

The Trojans, who have won four state titles, had better spacing and used their superior speed to dominate after halftime.

Mililani (12-0-1) scored in the 48th minute on Edayan’s goal off an assist from Maafala, who slotted a perfect pass down the middle of the defense. Edayan controlled the ball on the left side near the goal line and sent her shot between the near post and Na Menehune goalkeeper Zoe Crawford.

“It was a really nice ball. It was easy to track and I just placed it into the goal,” Edayan said.

The Trojans made it 2-0 in the 57th on Maafala’s blast from 20 yards. Kailee Wilson dribbled down field and found Kamalani Yamashita, who dropped the ball off for Maafala in the center of the field.

“It was a really nice assist from Kama and I was able to put it in the far left post,” Maafala said.

Ige scored from the right side in the 66th to seal the victory against Moanalua (11-1-1).

Mililani’s lone blemish during the regular season was a 0-0 tie against Campbell on Nov. 29, while Moanalua had a 1-1 draw against Castle on Dec. 10.