Mililani has long been an elite team in OIA girls soccer and the Trojans added another to their list of championships Saturday night.
After a scoreless first half at the Kapolei High field, Mililani got the goal it needed in the 49th minute on a fantastic offensive play that started the Trojans on their way to a 2-0 victory over Moanalua and an 18th league title. Those 18 championships have come in the 41 years of the tournament — a 44% clip.
The winning goal was a thing of beauty. Shaunee Egloria had a head of steam down the right wing and it appeared she was going to be stopped by a defender. Somehow, she leaped near the defender right above the sideline and came down in bounds and past the defender. She then broke down deep into the Moanalua zone and worked down the baseline without much hindrance before making a cross to Mehana Ortiz, who slammed it home.
>> PHOTOS: Mililani vs. Moanalua
“Brilliant,” Trojans coach Darren Smith said about Egloria’s offensive thrust. “Brilliant. That’s what we’ve been asking of our outside players. She didn’t stop early and she didn’t send a flat ball across. She drove the line and gave us an opportunity for the ball to go away from the keeper.”
Said Egloria: “I was (originally) looking for someone to pass to, but then I heard a teammate say just take it yourself. So I took it down the line and kept running my hardest and then I looked for Mehana and she scored.”
Before the Egloria-to-Ortiz breakthrough, the Trojans (12-1) had two superb chances — Cece Jenkins’ 20-yard tester in the first half that caught Moanalua goalkeeper Alexis Davis by surprise and Meagan Tamashiro’s 25-yard blast that hit squarely off the crossbar just after the halftime break.
With a goal in the 54th minute, Ali Fuamatu-Maafala made it 2-o. The play started on Jenkins’ corner kick and the ball, after several Ping-Pong bounces, wound up going to Fuamatu-Maafala who didn’t waste the excellent chance by knocking it into the goal.
Three players were pivotal in leading the Mililani defensive effort in front of goalkeeper Sydni Nakamura, according to Smith — Jacey Jicha, Kamryn Shigemoto and Kayla Sato.
“As much as possible, we wanted to limit (Moanalua’s) opportunities and time,” Smith said. “With that mind-set and being able to immediately contest any types of turns or touches, it was wonderful.”
The Trojans have now won four of the past five OIA crowns. Moanalua (9-1-2), which was going for its fourth overall title, lost its first match of the season. Both teams will be preparing for the Division I state tournament Feb. 3-8.
“We’ve gotta make sure we move on from it, but we definitely gotta take it and learn from it,” Na Menehune coach Nikki Dela Pena said. “Going into states, we can’t be making the same mistakes. … Mililani played a great game. Our team didn’t play its best tonight. They didn’t show what they are capable of. I don’t know if nerves got the best of them tonight. We gave them way too much space.”
