The Mililani boys soccer team was missing its top offensive weapon Saturday, but the Trojans’ Kilika Hasegawa and Ethan Funtanilla were able to find the scoring touch.
Hasegawa and Funtanilla scored second-half goals as Mililani beat Kalani 2-0 in the OIA Division I boys soccer final at Kaiser.
“When we were warming up you could see the wind was affecting the ball when you were shooting into it,” said Mililani coach Steven McGehee, whose team scored both goals with the wind. “We just said take shots and we got a couple of good looks at it.”
Mililani (13-0) earned the OIA’s seeded berth and will receive a first-round bye at the Motiv8 Foundation/HHSAA Boys Division I Soccer Championships, which start Feb. 6. Kalani (11-1-1), Kaiser, Kapolei, Aiea and Kailua also will represent the league in the 12-team tournament.
“It feels good knowing you’re the best in the OIAs,” Funtanilla said. “It really gives you the confidence for states, club and our future soccer careers.”
Mililani, the defending OIA champion, now has 18 league titles.
Hasegawa deftly controlled a high hop and blasted a one-hopper from 32 yards into the bottom left side of the goal past diving Falcons goalkeeper Robert Pruner at 58:21.
“I’m not really sure what happened,” said Hasegawa, who has three goals this season. “It kind of just happened. I just saw the ball and my teammates on the side were telling me to take the shot, so I took the shot.”
The Trojans, the OIA West’s No. 1 seed, made it 2-0 at 64:48 on Funtanilla’s uncontested header off a rebound. Keegan McGehee’s free kick from the right side was punched out by Pruner, and Jayden Sotelo’s shot went off the crossbar and right to a charging Funtanilla just in front of the goal line.
“We were really advancing down the field and it was a great opportunity to score, so I just capitalized on it,” said Funtanilla, who scored his sixth of the season.
The Trojans played without leading scorer Andre Estaniqui, who has 24 goals this season.
He received a red card in Thursday’s semifinal victory over Kaiser and was not allowed to play Saturday.
“I feel like we all had to step up because Andre is really like the heart of our team,” Funtanilla said. “He does a good job facilitating the play.”
The best scoring opportunity for the Falcons, the OIA East’s No. 1 seed, came in the 18th when Jenson Fuse received the ball off a Mililani defender in the middle of the penalty box, but his shot was blocked by Trojans goalkeeper Kobi Miyamoto.
Mililani had a chance in the 36th when Kai Martin received a pass from Tayeden Lau in front of the goal, but his shot was blocked by Pruner. The rebound went to Sotelo, whose shot was blocked out of bounds.
In the 50th, the Trojans’ Martin got a bounding ball just in front of the goal line, but his shot went off the football goalpost crossbar, which was about a yard above the soccer crossbar.
