As they say, better late than never.

With 11 seconds in regulation, Sophie Lugo pounded in the game winning goal to give Kailua a 3-2 victory over Radford Saturday night at Kapolei.

"I can't believe I just did that," said Lugo of her game winner. "It's a really good feeling."

This is the second straight OIA Division II title for head coach Malu Afong and her 5th overall title with Kailua.

"I'm really glad that my girls dug deep and went hard all the way to the very end," said coach Afong.

Both teams were coming into tonight's game hot with Kailua undefeated during the regular season and Radford only losing to the Surfriders in the first game of the regular season 4-0.

Lugo started the match off with a clear shot on goal in the 10th minute. Midfielder Bryn Abe played a through ball to Lugo and she had a one-on-one with Rams freshman keeper DeOnne Cooper, but Cooper made a routine save.

The Rams would create some chances of their own as the half went on.

Sophomore Sabre Telles-Kuwahara, Radford's leading goal scorer, started peppering shots toward the Kailua goal. In the 18th minute, she cut inside from the right wing and was through on goal. She placed a shot toward the left corner, but Kailua keeper Isabella Gallardo-Teixeira dove down and she was able to make a comfortable save.

However, Telles-Kuwahara's pressure eventually gave the Rams an early lead. She hit a long ball that traveled across the width of the pitch that found teammate Kelsyn Stefanik in the 18 yard box. Stefanik ripped off a shot from close range that forced Gallardo-Teixeira into a reflex save, but the rebound fell right into the path of Emma Mcnaughton and she made it 1-0 Rams in the 26th minute.

That goal was only the second goal that Kailua had allowed all season.

"It was definitely shocking for us," said Lugo. "It kind of brought us down a little bit but we had to snap out of it and calm our mindset."

Kailua only needed a couple minutes to compose themselves and responded quickly with a goal of their own.

In the 28th minute, the Surfriders won a corner kick. From the left corner, Maya Horton hit a lofted ball to the back post and Tatum Leong-Waugh bundled the ball into the net to make it 1-1.

Leong-Waugh almost doubled her goal tally a couple minutes later with a looping shot destined for the top right corner. However, Cooper soared upward and caught the ball and kept the game leveled heading into halftime.

"We were shaky," said Afong about how her team started and played the first half. "So we had to do a lot of spontaneous changes. We told the kids at halftime that we're not giving up."

When the 2nd half started, both teams were playing a bit more frantic and that opened up the play on the field.

That frantic energy would help Radford take the lead again.

In the 54th minute, Telles-Kuwahara danced through the center of the field, found some space, and hit a rocket shot from about 35 yards out. Gallardo-Teixeira tried to make the save, but the shot raced past her hands and hit the top center of the net. That was Telles-Kuwahara's 18th goal of the season.

"We had some break downs," said coach Afong. "She (Telles-Kuwahara) had a strong desire to do her best and she proved it."

Down 2-1, the Surfriders started to maintain more possession as the Rams bunkered down and played prevent defense.

Having possession helped Kailua feed the ball more to Lugo and she started to take more shots at Cooper's goal.

Lugo had two near goal opportunities but hit both chances just wide or high of the goal. The Rams were able to push back Lugo and the Surfriders for a decent portion of the 2nd half, but that all came crashing down in the 67th minute when Lugo finally got her goal.

Surfrider freshman Steisha-Lovie Kalani found some freedom down the right side of the field. She would find Lugo before getting tackled by a Rams defender and Lugo beat Cooper to tie the game 2-2.

The game started to heavily favor the Surfriders and they nearly got the game winner off of another set piece play. From another Horton corner, the ball bounced around in the box, and Kalani hit a shot from close range but it went right into the arms of Cooper. Cooper would end up making a total of 7 saves on the night.

The game looked set for overtime heading into the final minute, until Kailua finally found their go-ahead goal.

Kailua defender Elaine Goo would clear a ball back deep into Rams territory with under 30 seconds left. Her ball bounced over the centerback and Lugo ran onto the loose ball. Lugo outmuscled another Radford defender and slotted the ball home to give the Surfriders the game winner.

"I had so much adrenaline at that moment," said Lugo. "I'm glad I locked in and got that goal in."

Coach Afong had nothing but praise for Lugo, who transferred over from Kalaheo this year.

"Sophie's a really experienced player," said coach Afong. "She has played with a lot of the younger girls before on Leahi and they moved up together. When she came to us (from Kalaheo), she was really joining her friends. She's a really nice addition with all her experience, talent, skill and drive. She really helped us as a goal scorer and a quiet leader on the field."

After winning the OIA title two years in a row, the Surfriders have their eyes set on trying to claim their first ever D2 State title.

"We gave the girls Monday off to recover," said coach Afong. "We've had some minor injuries, so the focus is recovery so we can do well at States."