TJ Reyno is always good for at least one goal in the OIA Red title game.
Because of that, the Mililani Trojans are champions again.
Reyno scored for the fourth time in three OIA Red title games and Brittney Gideon added a goal in the second half as the Trojans won their fourth championship in five years with a 2-0 victory over host Kaiser on Friday night.
Reyno, who scored once in the 2010 final against Kalani and twice a year later against Moanalua, scored on a header off an Alisha Miyashiro corner kick in the 16th minute to give the Trojans a lead they wouldn’t relinquish.
"I’m just really happy to be a scorer playing forward and taking my team on my back," Reyno said.
Mililani won its 14th OIA championship overall and first in two years after it was knocked out in the semifinals in 2012 by Moanalua.
After avenging that loss in the semifinals on Thursday, the Trojans (12-0-1) followed up with a victory in the final to hand Kaiser (11-1-1) its first loss of the season.
"It is very rewarding," Mililani coach Ray Akiona said. "Playing two tough teams like Moanalua and Kaiser back-to-back was a tough challenge for us, but I’m glad we came ahead."
Reyno’s goal stood out in a fairly even first half in which Mililani attempted four shots on goal to Kaiser’s three.
The Cougars had the wind to their backs in the second half, but Gideon’s goal in the 58th minute came on a quick counter attack after the Cougars just missed a goal on two consecutive corner kicks.
"When we countered, we countered real quick on them and I think that was really for it us," Akiona said. "We were countering at the same time they were trying to attack."
Kaiser tried to get back in the game, applying heavy pressure to the Mililani defense after falling behind two goals.
The Cougars had two different shots carry inches over the crossbar but couldn’t get a ball past Mililani goalkeeper Tasalina Leoso, who was the hero in Thursday’s shootout win over Na Menehune.
Kaiser had another shot in the 72nd minute bounce off the post.
"It was just a matter of us surviving," Akiona said. "We couldn’t just sit back because they came back strong against us several times."
Both teams qualified for the state tournament beginning Jan. 30 with the Trojans earning a first-round bye.
"Any time when you score first in a championship game it adds pressure to the other team," Kaiser coach Adolph Samuels said. "At the end we responded and tried to get our chances to knock it in, but credit to Mililani. Their defense is stellar."
