HIGH SCHOOL SOCCER
Mililani dominates Castle in OIA quarterfinals
Freshman Chelsey Goo delivered a goal and an assist to help Mililani overwhelm Castle 4-1 last night at muddy Moanalua High School stadium.
Mililani (9-1-1) advanced to the semifinals of the Oahu Interscholastic Association girls soccer playoffs. The Trojans face Moanalua on Tuesday at Kapolei.
Swamp-like conditions prevailed at Moanalua's field.
"Yeah, it's harder to run here. It's been dry all season at Mililani," Goo said.
Coach Ray Akiona couldn't help but smile. After a close 1-0 win over Castle in preseason play, he employed a different strategy.
"I'm surprised we adapted," he said. "We had a more direct style today. Usually, we go more to the wings."
The Trojans, who finished second in the OIA last year, stifled the quick Knights all night.
"Our defense came through," junior halfback Stephanie Yoro said. "We've done a lot of bonding. At the beginning of the season, we all wrote papers with our goals. We know we can compete and go all the way. I have a lot of faith in my team."
Sloshing to a slow start, Mililani got hot at the 13-minute mark. Goo's left-footed boot from 10 yards away whizzed past the goalie to the left side of goal for a 1-0 Trojans lead.
Moments later, Goo delivered a cross to Natalie Wong. The ball ricocheted off Wong's shin and glanced into the goal from 10 yards out to give Mililani a 2-0 lead at the 15-minute mark.
From that point on, Mililani's offense dominated the game.
"What stopped Castle was that we kept the ball in our attacking third (of the field)," Akiona said. "We didn't let them get their rhythm."
Yoro delivered an amazing 35-yard kick that touched the lower side of the crossbar and into goal. That boosted Mililani's lead to 3-0 at the 39-minute mark.
The Trojans put the game out of reach when Allison Kagawa fed Shelyce Ichimura for another goal at close range. Mililani led 4-0 at the 45-minute mark.
Castle managed to avoid being shut out, though. At the 68-minute mark, the Knights finally got a goal when Aili MacDonald's 35-yard shot from the right side bounced high and over the head of goalkeeper Traci Kusaka and into the goal.
Castle (6-2-4) hosts Kailua on Tuesday at 7 p.m. in a losers-bracket contest.
Moanalua 1, Kailua 0
Senior halfback-forward Tanya Nojiri knocked in the only goal of the game at the 10-minute mark as the Menehunes (9-1-1) advanced to the semifinal round.
"I had a beautiful pass from Ashley (Dolan)," Nojiri said. "We split the defense. I touched it to the left and got past the sweeper.
"We kept pressing to the end."
Goalkeeper Brooke Shriner came up with several plays to deprive the visiting Surfriders.
Moanalua won the regular-season meeting against Kailua, 5-0.
Muddy field conditions didn't play a role in the rematch, Nojiri said.
"Absolutely not," she said. "Kailua really improved."
Kalani 1, Kaiser 0
Erin Arakaki scored the game's only goal as the Falcons defeated the Cougars.
Pearl City 2, Kalaheo 1
Christina Hee scored both Chargers goals as Pearl City advanced to Tuesday's semifinal against Kalani at 7 p.m. at Kapolei.
Johanna Frantzen scored the Mustangs' lone goal.