Thu, Jan 30, 2014 @ Kapolei

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Kaiser

3

Mililani

2

Final/PK	1st	2nd	OT	2OT	PK	Tot
Kaiser (13-3-0)	0	0	0	0	0	3
Mililani (15-4-0)	0	0	0	0	0	2

Jeron Cunningham    Mario Manrique    Marion Ian Ham

Kaiser's Mario Manrique and Mililani's Chris Galang go after the ball in midair. Joshua Lopez | Special to SL

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Kaiser's Christian Longnecker advances the ball up the field against Mililani. Joshua Lopez | Special to SL

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Mililani's Kalahikiola Judd battles a pair of Kaiser defenders for possession. Joshua Lopez | Special to SL

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Kaiser players celebrate after defeating Mililani in a penalty kick shootout. Joshua Lopez | Special to SL

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Kaiser's Mario Manrique and Mililani's Chris Galang go after the ball in midair. Joshua Lopez | Special to SL

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Kaiser's Christian Longnecker advances the ball up the field against Mililani. Joshua Lopez | Special to SL

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Mililani's Kalahikiola Judd battles a pair of Kaiser defenders for possession. Joshua Lopez | Special to SL

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Kaiser players celebrate after defeating Mililani in a penalty kick shootout. Joshua Lopez | Special to SL

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MILILANI - Kaiser overcame a 2-0 halftime to knock off two-time defending league champion Mililani, 3-2, Thursday night in the semifinals of the O'ahu Interscholastic Association Red tournament at John Kauinana Stadium.

The Cougars tied the game with two early second-half goals, then the teams played scoreless the rest of regulation and in two 10-minute sudden-death overtime periods, forcing a penalty kicks shootout that the Cougars won, 4-2. Goalkeeper Michael Austin made two saves in the shootout, as his teammates went 4 for 4 against the Trojans' keeper Robin Potts.

Kaiser (10-2) will meet Eastern Division rival Kalani - the two were division co-champions, but the Falcons (10-2) won their regular season meeting, 3-2, in a penalty-kick shootout on Dec. 18 - for the Red title, 6:30 p.m. Friday at Mililani. Neither team has won an OIA crown. Both played in title games recently, each falling to Kapolei. The Hurricanes beat Kaiser, 1-0, in 2011, and beat Kalani, 3-1, in 2007.

The Trojans (11-1), the most decorated OIA team with an unprecedented 15 league titles, will play Kapolei for third place, 5:30 p.m. at Leilehua.

"I'm quite happy," Kaiser coach Marco Antonio Gloria said of having to face the Falcons, Kaiser's East O'ahu rival. "They don't play as technical as Mililani does. Tomorrow, they (the Falcons) got their long-ball technique and we're going to shut 'em down."

In the penalty kicks phase, the Trojans went up first against Austin. Marc Matas drilled his kick right to put the Trojans up, 1-0. Kaiser's Kevin Anderson tied it going left.

Mililani's Jeron Cunningham went right, but Austin made a diving stop to his left. Matt Sai gave Kaiser the lead by hitting the left side.

Mililani's Micah Ishikawa tried to go left, but Austin made his second save. Jake Niiro increased Kaiser's lead to 3-1 going to the top right corner.

Chris Galang kept the Trojans' hopes alive by hitting the top right corner, but Chandler Furukawa put the shootout away for the Cougars.

"Our goalie is superb," Gloria said. "We trust him so much. He knows exactly how to read it."

"I was a little nervous, but I was calm," Austin said. "I had to go an relax. It's a 50-50 chance. Guess either way or you can read it."

But the drama was set up early in the second half of regulation. Trailing, 2-0, the Cougars played with a sense of urgency, moving two wingers to forwards.

"I told them it was a classic 2-nil lead in the middle of the (game)," Gloria said "It's the most dangerous lead you can have; you're relaxed. (We had) only two defenders; nothing to lose. We attacked with eight guys and defended with two and that was it."

Just three minutes into the half, Mario Ian Ham's header set up by a throw-in cut Kaiser's deficit in half.

About a minute later, Mario Manrique found himself one-on-one with a Trojans' defender in the middle of the goal area and fired. His shot was partially deflected by the defender, sending Trojans' keeper Potts going the other way, as the ball rolled into the net to tie the game at 2.

"Sometimes, it just happens," Mililani coach Jeff Yamamoto said of the deflected goal. "The ball got deflected and the ball was going in one direction; he could not do anything on that one.

"They got a couple goals that just go by us and that gave them some incentive to go hard."

Manrique did just that: go hard.

"I just thought, 'We have nothing to lose,'" said Manrique, who celebrated his 17th birthday Thursday. "I just cut back and just took the shot."

Manrique said the Cougars were motivated in the second half.

"We had nothing to lose, so I just went out and played my hardest," Manrique said.

It was a different story in the first half.

The teams showed off their passing games and were scoreless until the 24th minute when the Trojans scored off an own goal that started with a throw-in.

Twelve minutes later, the Cougars were called for a foul, setting up a penalty kick by Jeron Cunningham that gave Mililani a 2-0 lead.