Press Pass
Trojans' Komata pulling double-duty this winter




It's probably fair to say that Raine Komata wanted this one a little bit more than everyone else. 

The Mililani senior defender exacted a bit of revenge Saturday night when she helped her team post its 11th shutout of the season in a 3-0 win over Campbell in the title game of the Oahu Interscholastic Association Division I girls soccer tournament at Kapolei's Alvin Nagasako Sports Complex. 

The celebratory moment came just three nights after Komata experienced the other end of the equation as a member of the Mililani girls' basketball team, which played in the OIA championship game Wednesday night but lost to Campbell, 36-27. 

"After we lost in basketball I just wanted to have my basketball team's back," Komata said. "I was like, ‘Campbell is not getting two OIA championships,' like, we're gonna have my back and get revenge, in that sense."

Komata is a reserve guard on the basketball team, which has put together an 11-2 record and will host Roosevelt in a state tournament first-round game on Monday. Her role on the soccer team is, by far, a more prominent one as one of the Trojans' two senior center-backs who serve as the last line of defense in front of the goalie. 

"It was brilliant," Mililani girls soccer coach Darren Smith said following his team's shutout of the Sabers Saturday.

The Trojans scored all three of their goals during a four-minute stretch in the first half, which allowed Smith to empty his bench and utilize a large number of substitutions. Komata, along with fellow-center-back Kamryn Shigemoto, however, played the full 80 minutes. 

"Our center-backs lead the way and hats off to them, at all times they continue to do what they do, night in and night out," Smith said. 

The continuity and consistency that Komata and Shigemoto provide certainly wasn't built overnight. 

"I think me and Kam, we work very well together; we're basically best friends off the field and it's really nice just to have each other's back and we have good chemistry in that sense, so I think having us back there, working well together is, I guess a little security for (Smith)," Komata said. 

Smith isn't shy about stating the importance of the pair to the the team's defensive efforts — and more. 

"They've just been crucial in everything we do, leading on and off the field and we reward them for that very reason, that we can rely on them to be consistent and keep the morale up and just keep our ‘keeper from seeing much," Smith said. 

The Mililani defense limited Campbell and its dangerous attacking midfielder, Cheyenne Mattos, to just two shots on goal — both of which were easily handled by goalkeeper Jordyn Labajo-Cleaver. 

"Defense wins games," stated junior Mari Ige, a defensive midfielder who scored one of the Trojans' three goals Saturday. 

Ige and Komata are among the handful of players who were on the team when Mililani won the OIA title back in 2020. 

"I think all the returnees really wanted to win this year. Our JV has a (championship) streak and we kind of wanted a streak, too, so this is our second OIA title win and I think in the future we can really win more with this new group that we have coming up," Ige said. 

But Komata made sure to acknowledge the class of 2021, which had its senior season wiped away due to the pandemic. 

"I also wanted to win it for last year's seniors," she said. "I wanted to win it for them because they didn't have a chance to play and I think that would have been really cool."

Komata, a member of the Hawaii Rush Soccer Club, recently signed a national letter of intent to attend and play soccer at the United States Air Force Academy in Colorado Springs, Colorado. 

Free time, however, is hard to come by these days for Komata. Take last week for example. She was with the basketball team Monday night for an OIA semifinal win over Kaiser. Tuesday night she helped the soccer team blank Aiea in a league quarterfinal match. The following night she played limited minutes in the OIA basketball championship before returning to her soccer duties Thursday in a semifinal win over Pearl City. After a rare night off Friday (practices notwithstanding), she capped off the week with a championship-effort Saturday night on the pitch. 

And then there's school. 

All of it makes for a full plate of responsibilities for Komata — clearly a championship-caliber multi-tasker, as well. 

"Definitely with all the homework and stuff I'm getting, I definitely have to do that in school," she said. "My time management is a big thing, which is also very big in the Air Force, so I think that kind of helps me prepare for the Air Force in that sense and so just kind of not going on my phone, all those things, just being aware I have to put priorities first: school first, in front of everything, then soccer, because that is my main sport and then basketball."

Given the hectic nature of her schedule, Komata surely deserved to sleep in on Sunday morning. 



Reach Kalani Takase at [email protected].




Show your support

Every contribution, no matter the size, will help ScoringLive continue its mission to provide the best and most comprehensive coverage of high school sports in the state of Hawaii and beyond.

Please consider making a contribution today.

ADVERTISEMENT


MORE STORIES

Aiea downs Radford to claim first OIA D2 title since 2017

Na Alii led early and rapped out 13 total hits to pull away from the Rams to clinch their first OIA Division...

Pagampao powers No. 1 Mililani past No. 7 Kapolei for 12th OIA crown

The senior belted three home runs, including the go-ahead and game-ending blasts, to lead the Trojans...

Kapolei dethrones Campbell to set up OIA D1 title tilt with Mililani

The Hurricanes pulled away from the Sabers in the final frame while the Trojans held off a late charge...

Surfriders cash in on Na Alii miscues to claim 15th league crown, ninth under Ishigo

Kailua sent eight batters to the plate and scored five runs in a tide-turning bottom of the third inning,...

Waianae rolls past Radford to claim first OIA championship since 2017

Shysten Nagasako did work on both the mound and at the plate in the Seariders' mercy-rule shortened win...

No. 1 seeds Aiea, Kailua to face off for OIA Division I baseball crown

Na Alii posted a 3-1 win over Roosevelt behind Aidan Yoshida's complete game, while two pitchers combined...