OIA Girls Soccer
Cayetano cashes in for Mililani in 3-0 win over Waipahu


  



Fri, Dec 15, 2023 @ Waipahu


Final 1st 2nd OT 2OT PK Tot
Mililani (13-2-2) 3 0 - - - 3
Waipahu (9-5-1) 0 0 - - - 0
J. Cayetano (31’, 33’)   T. Fuamatu-Maafala (27’)

WAIPAHU — Jaslene Cayetano might keep the pink shoes packed away for the time being. 

Cayetano scored a pair of goals and assisted on another — all in a six-minute span late in the first half — to lead Mililani to a 3-0 win over host Waipahu in an Oahu Interscholastic Association girls soccer match at the Masa Yonamine Athletic Complex Friday night. 

A small crowd of about 250 fans saw the Trojans improve to 3-0 in the OIA Division I West standings, while the Marauders fell to 2-1-1. 

Cayetano, a sophomore forward/midfielder, set-up Iai Maafala for the game's first goal in the 27th minute, then put away a pair of chances in front of the goal in the 31st and 33rd minutes.

It was the second straight game that Cayetano found the back of the net. Her three goals scored is second most on the team. 

"She worked extremely hard and it shows," Mililani coach Darren Smith said of Cayetano. "She's one of those players that plays with tons of heart and she'll give it her best 24/7, so hats off to that."

The Trojans peppered the Waipahu goal to the tune of 11 shots on goal, with all but three of them coming before halftime. Maafala put a couple of shots on goal in the first 14 minutes — the latter requiring a diving save by goalkeeper Zinn Kurose. 

Maafala and Mililani broke the seal in the 27th minute on a chance set-up by a corner kick after a ball was misplayed by a Waipahu defender. Kalena Yamashita played the corner short to Cayetano, who passed it off to Leila Leano. Leano's shot was deflected but found the feet of Cayetano on the left flank. Cayetano connected a pass to Maafala in the box, who finished a one-timer for her team-best ninth goal. 

"Leila tried to shoot it and it deflected and I got the ball and then I crossed it and then Iai finished it," Cayetano recalled. 

About four minutes after Maafala's goal, MJ Wagatsuma put a shot on goal, but it was deflected away by Kurose. The rebound, however, found Cayetano, who gathered it and quickly shot it past Kurose and into the back of the net to double up the Mililani lead. 

Only two minutes after that, Wagatsuma set-up Cayetano with a long pass that led to the Trojans' third goal of the first half. 

"MJ hit a ball across the field and I was open — it went through the defenders — and then I finished it," Cayetano said. 

After knocking on the door for much of the first half, Smith's squad busted it wide open with the trio of goals in six minutes. 

"We just remained calm and persistent knowing that we've been working on getting through tight spaces and Waipahu did a fantastic job of keeping it challenging to break through their lines," Smith said. 

Cayetano felt that she and her teammates benefitted from a more attentive warm-up session prior to the kickoff. 

"Last game, our warm-up was pretty iffy, so our coaches hyped us a little bit and was telling to get focused and to get the warm-up good and that helped us during the game, so we were more focused and more in tact with each other and we were connecting and stuff," Cayetano said. 

Cayetano's prolific performance was in spite of some uncomfortable footwear. She played the first half in light blue cleats, but changed those out in favor of pink cleats in the second half. 

"Those are new shoes, that's why, and my feet were hurting. I had extra shoes, so then I changed it and it was more comfortable in the second half. Maybe I should have kept the blue shoes on," she laughed. 

Waipahu's lone shot on goal came in the 38th minute, when midfielder Deizha Lyn Jacinto got loose and was able to put a solid strike on a ball from about 15 yards out. Her shot was bobbled at first by goalie Jordyn Labajo-Cleaver, but she quickly secured it for a two-handed save. 

Smith said that minimizing Jacinto's opportunities in the final third was pivotal. 

"She's a fantastic player; She definitely had a dangerous opportunity in that situation. We recognized that she was a threat, so we tried to make sure that she was limited, but they're a solid team from front to back; they did a good job," Smith said.

Kurose made eight saves in goal for the Marauders. 

Waipahu will face two more undefeated teams coming up. It will host Pearl City (3-0-1) Tuesday before traveling to Campbell (4-0) Thursday. 

Mililani will host Leilehua (2-1) Tuesday at John Kauinana Stadium, then hit the road Thursday against Pearl City at Bino Neves Stadium.  



Reach Kalani Takase at [email protected].




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