The Trojans celebrate after winning their 19th OIA boys soccer championship with a 2-0 win over the Sabers. Michael Lasquero | SL

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Sat, Jan 27, 2024 @ Kapolei

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Campbell

0

Mililani

2

Final	1st	2nd	OT	2OT	PK	Tot
Campbell (9-3-2)	0	0	-	-	-	0
Mililani (16-0-0)	0	2	-	-	-	2

C. Ishizaka (51’)   K. Toguchi (73’)

KAPOLEI — With his team locked in a scoreless duel, Mililani boys soccer coach Steve McGehee put his trust in his defense. 

The gamble paid out with all the offense the top-ranked Trojans needed to fend off pesky Campbell, 2-0, in the title game of the Oahu Interscholastic Association Division I tournament Saturday night. 

A crowd of about 800 fans at Kapolei's Alvin Nagasako Sports Complex saw Mililani capture its third league crown in a row and 19th overall. 

"It's one of those things that this is a new team every year, so as much as it's three in a row, it's one for this group," said McGehee, who has coached the Trojans to four OIA titles in his time. 

After a scoreless first half of play, McGehee adjusted his team's formation to optimize play in the midfield. The Trojans shifted from a four-back, three-mid, three-front look, to a 3-5-2 shape. 

"We were discussing it at halftime that we were getting a little bit overloaded in the midfield and Campbell had a great game plan for us to make us unbalanced and so we did do a little bit of a tweak in the second half and that helped us get better looks and balanced in the field," McGehee explained. 

Early on in the second half, however, it was the Sabers who held more of the possession and had the better run of play. 

Mililani changed that in an instant in the 51st minute. A quick transition from the defensive third saw wing Caleb Ishizaka receive the ball above midfield on the left side of the pitch. Ishizaka was able to make a turn toward the line and just as he passed his defender, Ishizaka fired a left-footed shot into the bottom right corner of the goal to get the Trojans on the board. 

"It changed (quickly)," Ishizaka said of the momentum. "(Campbell) definitely had a lot of the possession and we just needed to find that one break that gave us all the confidence to dominate the rest of the game."

Ishizaka's shot was just out of the reach of Sabers goalkeeper Kaeden Tunupopu, whose fingertips grazed the ball after a diving save attempt. 

Tunupopo registered two more saves in the 54th and 55th minutes on shots on goal by Mililani's Tayeden Lau and Merrick Tambio, respectively. In the 59th minute, Tunupopo reacted quickly to deny a close-range shot by Tyler Cole Tamashiro. 

The Trojans finally added an insurance goal in the 73rd minute. As they did with the first goal, McGehee's crew flipped the field in a matter of seconds in the lead-up to the score. 

Center-back Justin Tilton took the ball away from a Campbell player and passed it to outside-back Mau Uiagalelei, who then passed it ahead to Ishizaka. Ishizaka played the ball through the leg of his defender and made a run down the left sideline before he crossed it with his left foot to Kalen Toguchi on the backside of the play. Toguchi connected his head to Uiagalelei's pass and put it into the left side of the frame for a goal. 

"It was a nice run and I took it all the way down to the line, I looked into the box and I saw Kalen Toguchi in it and I was like, ‘Oh, I'm just gonna put it right on his head,' so I just crossed it in and hoped for the best and he scored and it was a good goal — it was a really good header," Ishizaka said. 

Toguchi saw the play developing from afar and praised Ishizaka's execution on the cross to set him up for his sixth goal of the season. 

"Most of the credit goes to Caleb for finding the space, finding me at the back post and I just tapped it in with the header," Toguchi said. 

Ishizaka noted that it was assistant Alika Cosner who suggested the change in formation to McGehee. Toguchi tipped his cap his coaches for making the necessary adjustments. 

"It was pretty confusing in the first half. We weren't really playing our game, (but we have a) really good coaching staff and during halftime — not only in this game, but in regular season games — if we're not starting the way we should be starting, it's the halftime talks and just bringing us back to our point where we're the strongest," Toguchi said. 

The addition of more bodies to the midfield, however, meant one fewer defender on the backline for the Trojans. Captain and center-back Parker Patterson, the reigning All-Hawaii Defensive Player of the Year, stepped up on several occasions Saturday night to thwart Campbell's chances in the final third. 

"With the change in formation, it definitely made us a little weaker in the defense, but it made us a lot more stronger on the offense and midfield side because we had a three-back (formation), so obviously we couldn't cover our bases as well, but you know what, it definitely helped us with the midfield because in the first half we were struggling with trying to get up in our half and then just get a goal," Patterson said. 

He pointed out that the Trojans' ability to turn things around on a dime was critical to their ability to finish opportunities against the upset-minded Sabers. 

"I would say transition is definitely one of our stronger suits because that's what we train in practice. We practice our transition from offense to defense and defense to offense, that's one of our stronger suits," Patterson said. 

On the other side of the ball, Mililani got yet another clean sheet from its defense, which has held 12 of 13 opponents scoreless this season. 

The Trojans have surrendered only one goal all year. 

"Our defense is fantastic. It's hard to keep almost a clean sheet throughout the season and I just give all our wins to the defense because without defense you can't win anything," Ishizaka said.

McGehee agreed in full with Ishizaka's assessment. 

"That's where the credit really lies: you win games with offense, you win championships with defense and that's really where it was today," McGehee said. "They've been like that all season long and we're been lucky enough to get good defensive play the whole season."

Campbell coach Leonard Ancheta praised the effort of his players, who hung with the state's top-ranked team for much of the game. 

"They are the number one team in the state — they are legit — so I am proud of my boys that they were able to hang with them and now they've got some confidence that they can play at that level with this all-star team and I'm just so proud of them," Ancheta said. 

"Everybody labeled this game ‘David versus Goliath,' where we're the underdogs and these boys really didn't play like underdogs. They went out there and I think they just represented their families, represented the community and the school really well. I'm so proud of them," Ancheta added. 

The Sabers, who finished second in the OIA West, were making their first appearance in a league final. 

Both of Campbell's losses this season have come at the hands of the Trojans, who posted a 4-0 win when the teams faced off in the regular season on Dec. 29 at John Kauinana Stadium. 

Saturday's rematch played out much differently than the first meeting. 

"I would say the energy, just the environment — it's an OIA final — nerves are everywhere, energy's electric and then just, Campbell came out really strong, give credit to them," Patterson said. "They played hard, they definitely strategized against us and in the second half, we did so, too and then we were able to attack the sides and eventually get two goals in."

McGehee, whose team had won each of its games by no fewer than three goals all season, said it was a matter of staying patient and positive. 

"(First half was) frustrating, but we had some good looks and we had our chances, so, you know, we knew we would get looks again in the second half and they came through in the end," McGehee said. 

The Trojans tallied nine of their 13 shots on goal after halftime.

Goalkeeper Kobi Miyamoto, who relieved starter Maddox Flanders at halftime, made two saves in the win.

Tunupopo registered 11 saves between the posts for the Sabers, who recorded both of their shots on goal in the second half. 

Mililani (13-0) will have a seeded berth at next month's Motiv8 Foundation/HHSAA Division I State Championships and a bye into the quarterfinal round. 

Campbell (9-2-2) will host a first-round game on Feb. 5.