RICHARD WALKER / RWALKER@STARBULLETIN.COM Aiea girls soccer players celebrated a goal against Mililani yesterday in the OIA final.

Aiea takes OIA girls
soccer crown

She wasn't exactly a secret, but Lelani Kleman-Maeva turned out to be a game-changing weapon.

Kleman-Maeva, a reserve goalkeeper, came up with three stops during a shootout as Aiea defeated Mililani 2-1 last night for the Oahu Interscholastic Association girls soccer championship.

Perhaps more intriguing was the fact that it was Kleman-Maeva's first shootout experience since preseason. Amanda Jungblut's kick provided the go-ahead score for Aiea (12-1-1), the No. 3 seed in the West. Na Alii captured their second league crown. The first came in 1999, and both were under the guidance of coach Gordon Matsuoka.

"Mililani has a lot of good players. They play our type of game," Matsuoka said.

Mililani (10-1-2) saw its run of OIA titles end at three.

"I'm very proud of them. Both teams played well," Mililani coach Ray Akiona said. "It's unfortunate someone had to lose. I'm not surprised by Aiea.

"Aiea is always tough. Both teams had chances to score along the way. Now we have a week and a half to get ready for states."

The shootout was just what Aiea wanted, especially on its home field. "We practice shootout kicks 30 minutes a day," Matsuoka said. "But I wasn't real confident."

RICHARD WALKER / RWALKER@STARBULLETIN.COM AieaÕs Jaecie Kato and MililaniÕs Sarah Yoro got tangled yesterday at the Oahu Interscholastic Association soccer championship at Aiea High School. Aiea won, 2-1.

He inserted Kleman-Maeva, replacing Shareyn Muneoka. Kleman-Maeva is a 5-foot-11 junior who was a Star-Bulletin All-State second-team selection in volleyball. "She's been doing better at practice," Matsuoka said. "Plus, there's an intimidation factor."

Sarah Yoro, the co-leader in OIA West scoring, opened the shootout with a successful kick for Mililani. Tobi Kanehira followed with her own kick to tie the shootout.

Alysen Ono's attempt was stopped by Kleman-Maeva, and a moment later, Tehane Higa scored to give Aiea a 2-1 edge in the shootout.

Mililani tied it up, however, when Natalie Wong scored and Aiea's Keli-Anne Chang's attempt bounced off the right post.

Stephanie Yoro stepped up, but her kick sailed wide right as Kleman-Maeva dove the other way. That's when Jungblut squared up and rocketed a shot to the left, past the outstretched arms of Ashley Nakamoto.

"There's no plan. You just kick wherever you feel comfortable," Jungblut said.

On Mililani's fifth attempt, Nakamoto sent her kick to the left, but Kleman-Maeva was there to stop the ball. She bobbled it for a second and let the ball squirt away behind her. After a quick conference, officials determined that the ball did not enter the goal.