The Mililani boys soccer team had never had to play from behind prior to Saturday.
Mililani never panicked against Campbell and all it took was Tyler Cole Tamashiro’s deft strike, Kalen Toguchi putting his body on the line and Caleb Ishizaka’s poise for the penalty spot to pull out the victory.
Ishizaka converted a penalty kick in double overtime to lift Mililani over Campbell 2-1 in the final of the OIA Division I tournament Saturday at Kaiser.
“I just grab the ball, put it on the spot and just take it from there,” Ishizaka said. “We’ve been practicing that a lot and it was just rinse and repeat.”
The PK was set up when Toguchi chased after a high bounding ball and collided with Campbell goalkeeper Zane Wdzieczkowski near the top of the penalty box.
Toguchi did not come away unscathed and left the game.
“I found about three little pieces of my tooth in my mouth,” he said.
Wdzieczkowski was issued a yellow card by the referee and Ishizaka went to the spot and converted to the left side off the Sabers backup goalkeeper at 95:26.
“Our keeper came out to go for the ball, she (the referee) clearly thought he got the player and that’s the call that was made,” Campbell coach Lance Thompson said. “She’s the expert on the field. That’s not my area. I’m worried about coaching my team. Looks like she made the right call, she believes it and that’s the way it goes. Yeah, it’s fair.”
Mililani (13-0-0) won its fourth OIA title in a row and 20th overall.
“We’re blessed. We’re a great program and for many years we’ll continue to be a great program,” Tamashiro said. “The foundation built this past 40 years has been great and I’m happy to be a part of it.”
Mililani will be seeded and receive a first-round bye at the Motiv8 Foundation/HHSAA Division I tournament, which starts Feb. 3.
“They know what it means to wear that “M” patch on their chest,” first-year Mililani coach Alika Cosner said. “They’re dedicated for the cause. We play for something bigger at the end of the day.”
Campbell (10-2-1), Castle, Kailua, Kapolei and Kaiser also will represent the OIA at the 12-team event.
The Trojans are the defending state champions.
Mililani tied it at 1-1 at 47:09 on Tamashiro’s goal off a scramble in front of the goal. Toguchi initiated the play with a throw-in near the right corner flag that was knocked down and bounced to Tamashiro, who placed his shot high down the middle.
“The whole half we had the wind, so we were trying to put the ball in the box,” Tamashiro said. “Luckily for me, it hit off a defender and I got the rebound and I slammed it into the back of the net.”
Campbell went up 1-0 at 25:38 on Bryson Ancheta’s goal off an assist from Tyler Welsch.
Welsch started with the ball 30 yards out on the left side, muscled between a pair of Mililani defenders and sent a cross to Ancheta, who was on a full sprint just in front of the goal line.
“It was definitely super tough for us,” Ishizaka said.“First time we ever went down and our coaches basically at halftime were telling us to keep our heads up and just keep on going.”
Added Cosner: “It takes a whole lot of grit. They dealt with it pretty well.”
A minute earlier, the Trojans, the West champions, got close when Toguchi’s throw-in from 35 yards was deflected toward goal and knocked off the goal line by a Sabers defender. Wdzieczkowski then fell on the ball.
In the 65th, the Trojans’ Tamashiro blasted a shot from the left side that Wdzieczkowski leaped to his left to save.
In the 77th, Tamashiro sent a shot from 20 yards off the left post.
Mililani had the only decent scoring opportunity in the first 10-minute overtime. Elijah Kuni’s free kick bounced to Rylan Sergent, whose shot off the right side was saved by Wdzieczkowski.
Campbell, the West’s No. 2 team, nearly broke through at the start of the second overtime. Mana Llanos controlled the ball on the right side and his shot was saved by Mililani goalkeeper Kobi Miyamoto, who dived to his right.
Both team nearly scored midway through the first half.
The Sabers’ Jeremiah Antonio-Makinano fired a shot from just outside the penalty box that went off the hand of a Trojans player. Cody Mar took the free kick and his shot went just wide right.
Mililani’s Pookela Tom-Makue received a cross on the right side in close, but his shot went just wide right.
Campbell’s Jayden Parker sent a free kick from the middle of the field off the football goal post crossbar.
