CINDY ELLEN RUSSELL / CRUSSELL@STARBULLETIN.COM Pearl City's Tobi Kaneshiro and Mililani's Barbara Hanohano jostled over the ball during the AYSO National Games held at the Waipio Soccer Complex yesterday.

Hawaii crowns 3 AYSO champions

Hawaii entered 49 teams into the American Youth Soccer Organization national tournament at the Waipio Peninsula Soccer Complex.

Three of them walked away champions.

Pearl City beat Mililani to capture the girls under-19 championship, while Mililani won the girls under-12 division and Kona earned the boys under-16 championship.

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CINDY ELLEN RUSSELL / CRUSSELL@STARBULLETIN.COM Teammates hugged Pearl City's Karissa Higa yesterday after she scored a goal in the AYSO National Games.

Higa's goal came late in the second half as Pearl City rallied from a one-goal halftime deficit to defeat Mililani 2-1 in an All-Oahu final in the girls' under-19 division of the American Youth Soccer Organization National Games tournament that concluded yesterday at the Waipio Peninsula Soccer Complex.

Some 181 teams from 16 states, including 49 from Hawaii, competed in the four-day tournament that featured four divisions for both boys and girls.

Hawaii was home to three of the eight champions decided yesterday, as Mililani won the girls' under-12 division and Kona took home the boys' under-16 championship.

The final in the girls' under-19 division was the only one featuring two teams from Hawaii. Pearl City and Mililani dominated their respective pools and entered the final sporting undefeated 7-0 records, outscoring their opponents by a combined total of 61-3.

Pearl City controlled the ball for the majority of the game, but never led until Higa launched a shot from outside the penalty box that went just over the outstretched arms of Mililani goalkeeper Caliann Fukuda for the game-winning shot.

"I was just hoping that it went in," Higa said.

Pearl City coach Robert Gregory said his team was notified late that it would be playing in this tournament and didn't have much time to practice.

However, a lot of the girls play for Pearl City's high school team as well as the same club team, which helped offset the lack of practice time.

"At this age, the girls have generally been playing together for a long time already," Gregory said. "They worked hard and really wanted this. This is the last year of eligibility for a lot of the girls, so I just told them to go out there and play the game of their lives."

Pearl City had allowed just one goal in its first seven games and had won by at least three in every game except one.

Mililani had been nearly as dominant, surrendering just two goals in the first six games, and gave Pearl City its toughest test despite spending most of the game defending Pearl City's consistent offensive attack.

"They're definitely a good team and we know like half their team so it was fun," 16-year-old Dayna Domingo said. "(Winning) feels so good."

Domingo got her team back into it by scoring just minutes into the second half. She took a crossing pass from Ashley Daida and after taking a moment to control the ball, ripped a shot into the net to tie the game at 1.

Mililani nearly retook the lead on a shot that bounced off the goalpost, but the score remained tied until Higa's shot late in the game gave Pearl City a lead it wouldn't relinquish.

"The competition from the mainland was really good and Mililani is an excellent team," Gregory said. "We just couldn't finish in the first half, but we were able to do it when we needed to."