Mililani passed the first test in its quest to three-peat as Hawaii's boys soccer champions with a 3-0 victory last night over Kauai in the quarterfinals of the 2003 Meadow Gold Boys State Soccer Championship Tournament at the Waipio Soccer Complex. Mililani advances
3-0 over KauaiBy Marc Dixon
mdixon@starbulletin.comJustin Kim scored twice in the second half, adding to Whitney Shimatsu's first-half score.
Kim's first goal came with just under 30 minutes left in the half, as the junior midfielder blasted a shot off the wet grass past Red Raiders goalkeeper Jonathan Arakaki.
Kim's second goal was reminiscent of an NBA fast break, as Kim worked a give-and-go with Nathan Amous.
"Nate gave a perfect ball right back to me," Kim said. "We have that connection going, we know each other and played together for a long time."
Defensively, the Trojans (12-0-1) worked as a unit to stonewall Kauai for almost the entire game. "Not one guy stood out on defense," Kim said. "This is a team game and all of them did a great job. This is a team effort and we're in it together."
Kim commended the Red Raiders (8-2) for hanging tough, citing their physical play.
"They were physical, but we were able to overcome that and stood up with them by using our technical skill to our advantage," Kim said.
Another advantage, according to the Trojans, may have been the field.
"This is a really nice field and very smooth, better than most of the OIA fields," Shimatsu said. "Since we pass the ball so much, it helped us control it."
The first half was played almost entirely on the Kauai side of the field, until the closing moments. With zeros showing on the scoreboard, the visitors from the Garden Isle turned up the heat and finally pressed the Mililani defense with breakaways and effective crossing passes.
KEN IGE / KIGE@STARBULLETIN.COM
Kauai's Chris Colacino and Mililani's Ceferin Oliva fought for a ball during yesterday's quarterfinal match.Kauai's Chris Colacino's shot from the outside left corner of the penalty box was stopped on a diving save by the Trojans' Darren Smith, who extended all 6-foot-4 of his body to deflect the ball to the right side. After recovering the loose ball, Kauai's Justin Toulon uncorked another shot that Smith smothered.
Mililani took the early lead on a left-footed goal by Shimatsu. After controlling a long lead pass, Shimatsu faked out defenders Todd Yamamoto and Bryce Agena, slipped by keeper Arakaki and gave the two-time defending champions a 1-0 lead five minutes and 45 seconds into the game.
"It was a great pass from JK (Kim). At first I beat the keeper and there were other guys covering so I just pushed it," Shimatsu said. "It was a wide-open goal after that and it felt great."
With Mililani controlling the ball on the Kauai side for most of the half, no player was busier than Kauai's athletic goalkeeper Arakaki.
KEN IGE / KIGE@STARBULLETIN.COM
Mililani's Whitney Shimatsu scored the Trojans' first goal past Kauai's Cody Kimura yesterday.
Almost 25 minutes into the half, Arakaki showcased his quickness and athletic prowess, getting airborne for a great save on a Kim shot to send the ball over the crossbar.
Pearl City 4, Baldwin 3: The third-seeded Bears (10-1) suffered their first loss of the season at the worst time, falling to the Chargers (11-2-1).
Pearl City's Ricky Shinn scored the game-winning goal in the 81st minute to break a 3-3 tie.
Keoni Peiper's two goals and Chris Kaaukuu's score helped the Chargers come back from one-goal deficits three times.
Baldwin became the second-seeded team to drop out of the tournament yesterday, joining Hilo. After the game, a Baldwin player injured a referee, the Bears voluntarily forfeited today's consolation match.
Kamehameha 2, Hilo 0: Randall Haraguchi and Kekoa Smith scored for the Warriors (11-4-1) in the shutout of the fourth-seeded Vikings (15-2).
The game was scoreless at halftime, but Haraguchi's goal in the 56th minute gave Kamehameha a one-goal lead it would nurse for 18 minutes, until Smith iced it.
Punahou 3, Hawaii Prep 0: The second-seeded Buffanblu controlled Ka Makani for almost the entire game, setting the tone with an early goal.
Stephen Carlson scored in the fifth minute, and Kevin Lenahan and Christopher Rania added goals in the 45th and 58th minutes to clinch it for Punahou (13-0-2).
The Big Island team fell to 15-2.
State boys soccer
All games at Waipio Peninsula Soccer ComplexSeeded teams
1. Mililani (12-0-1), 2. Punahou (13-0-2), 3. Baldwin (10-2), 4. Hilo (15-2).Wednesday
Kamehameha 5, Roosevelt 0
Kauai 3, Moanalua 2
Hawaii Prep 3, Castle 1
Pearl City 3, Honokaa 0Yesterday
Moanalua 1, Roosevelt 0
Honokaa 3, Castle 2
Kamehameha 2, Hilo 0
Punahou 3, Hawaii Prep 0
Pearl City 4, Baldwin 3
Mililani 3, Kauai 0Today
Game 11: Hilo vs. Kauai, 2 p.m.
Game 12: Hawaii Prep def. Baldwin, forfeit
Game 13: Punahou vs. Pearl City, 6 p.m.
Game 14: Kamehameha vs. Mililani, 8 p.m.Tomorrow
Game 15: Winners of Games 5 and 6, 2 p.m.
Game 16: Winners of Games 11 and 12, 4 p.m.
Game 17: Losers of Games 13 and 14, 6 p.m.
Game 18: Winners of Games 13 and 14, 8 p.m.
Hawaii School Web Sites
