Mililani has no problem with Kekaulike

The Mililani girls soccer team scored early and late in the first half Thursday while beating King Kekaulike, then took much less time between goals during the second half.

Jaeda Edayan, Tavena Oliveira, Kamalani Yamashita and Kailee Wilson scored for No. 2 seed Mililani in a 4-1 victory over King Kekaulike in the quarterfinals of the Motiv8 Foundation/HHSAA Girls Division I Soccer Championships at Waipio Peninsula Soccer Complex.

Mililani plays Punahou in today’s semifinals at 5 p.m. at Pearl City.

“We’re just really dedicated and we just really want to win this year,” Edayan said. “We all want to win for our seniors and we really feel confident we can, with our team, make it really far.”

Edayan scored in the third minute off a cross from Yamashita.

“It was just put it in the back of the net,” Edayan said. “It was a nice, easy ball, not too hard to finish.”

The Trojans (13-0-1) controlled play before breaking through again in the 39th on Oliveira’s goal, which went off the crossbar and in. Yamashita initiated the play by dribbling down the right side and passing to Edayan, who found Olivera just in front of the goal line.

Mililani, the OIA champion, finished with eight shots on goal in the first half, while King Kekaulike had none.

“We had opportunities, but we just weren’t able to finish them off,” Mililani coach Darren Smith said. “Being able to get that second one before halftime definitely maintained the momentum leading into the second half.”

Said King Kekaulike coach Gundi Dancil: “Toward the end of the first half, we were able to pick up on their passes and their rhythm of play. Too bad they got that ending-period goal. If we had gone into the half with the 1-0 score, it would have picked up our girls.”

King Kekaulike, the MIL runner-up, started the second half strong, with Leiala Aruda and Ruby Kessler getting loose on breakaways only to be denied by Mililani goalkeeper Taylor Howard.

“She was focused,” Smith said of Howard. “Regardless of where the ball was on the field, she was dialed in, either communicating with our back or just ready to play.”

Mililani put the game away with Yamashita’s goal in the 53rd and Wilson’s score in the 54th.

“They work the ball well. They found some spots that we needed to fill in,” Dancil said of the Trojans.

Aruda scored in the 68th for Na Alii.

King Kekaulike (8-2-4) plays Waiakea today in a fifth-place semifinal at 1 p.m. at Waipio Peninsula Soccer Complex. Na Alii’s only other loss came against Baldwin in their season opener Nov. 30.

Punahou 5, Waiakea 2

Xevani Salanoa scored two goals for the Buffanblu, including two in the first 10 minutes.

The Warriors came back to tie it with scores by Charlie Silva and Kauionalani Mahi-Murray.

Emily Daehler put Punahou ahead 3-2 at the 28th minute, and Ally Yoshimura and Xehlia Salanoa added insurance in the second half.