A chilly breeze blowing through Kapolei wasn't the only element producing a chicken-skin moment last night.

Having claimed their medals and the Oahu Interscholastic Association White Conference trophy, the Kailua girls soccer team gathered for one more cheer, shouting “;Coach Wil”; in one voice.

The program's first OIA title last year was a breakthough for the Surfriders. Last night's 5-0 win over Nanakuli represented a tribute to Wil Kimura, the longtime Kailua coach who died suddenly last month.

“;It means a lot,”; said senior forward Ashley Kanoho. “;We really wanted to do this for him.

“;I have a lot of emotions going through me right now. Mostly happiness because we wanted this really bad.”;

Kanoho scored two goals in the first half as the Surfriders (12-0) controlled the action for most of the match to successfully defend the title they won last year under Kimura and claim the OIA's top seed in next week's state tournament.

“;That was their main goal, to take this, if they can, for him,”; Kailua coach Malu Afong said. “;It was really important to them. They worked really hard for it.

“;It's very difficult,”; Afong said of coping with Kimura's sudden passing, “;but we just try to ensure that we are one unit. We enforce unity, we move forward together and we don't leave anyone behind.”;

Nanakuli posed the first threat of the evening, Chelsea Eli-Kido's shot ending in the hands of Kailua goalkeeper Saige Manatad about 2 minutes into the match.

The Golden Hawks spent most of the remainder of the first half on the defensive with Kailua finding the net three times before the break. Danielle Galveso opened the scoring 7 minutes in maintaining control while breaking through the Nanakuli defense and getting enough on her shot to sneak it past Nanakuli goalkeeper Christine Kahue.

Kanoho scored the first of her two first-half goals 9 minutes later, working free on the right side and sending a shot inside the far post. Kanoho pushed the Kailua lead to 3-0 after being awarded a penalty kick, and the Surfriders — who have outscored their opponents 54-1 this season — were on their way to the repeat.

“;The first one was tricky,”; Kanoho said. “;It was an outside shot and I hit the ball square and it went into the left corner.”;

Kailua struck again with 18 minutes left when Rhiana Beauregard dropped a pass to Jessica Alameida, who had a clear shot for the Surfriders' fourth goal. About 6 minutes later, Tiffany Nakata scored on a header off a corner kick by Sierra Kadooka.

“;Even at 3-0 I was a little uneasy still,”; said Afong, a 1996 Kailua graduate who played for Kimura and coached with him for the last five years. “;Four was, 'OK.' “;

While Nanakuli, the OIA West champion, couldn't muster much last night, reaching the final represented a significant step for the program in head coach Richard Wentling's second year.

“;Kailua is a very well-skilled team, and they had the advantage over us,”; said Wentling, who has two freshmen on the roster who played in outside leagues. “;We're trying to build up a program on our side of the island and get the players out here to perform at a level like that is what we have to try to do. They outplayed us in every aspect of the game and they deserved to win.”;