OIA Boys Soccer
No. 1 Mililani locks up OIA West top spot with one-sided win over No. 5 Kapolei


Kalani Takase | ScoringLive
January 8, 2025, 12:00am

  

Tue, Jan 7, 2025 @ Mililani

Kapolei

0

Mililani

3

Final 1st 2nd OT 2OT PK Tot
Kapolei (11-3-1) 0 0 - - - 0
Mililani (15-1-0) 2 1 - - - 3
Tyler Cole Tamashiro (11’)   Own goal (64')   Kalen Toguchi (15’)


MILILANI — The state's top-ranked team keeps on rolling. 

Tyler Cole Tamashiro and Kalen Toguchi each scored a goal within the first 15 minutes Tuesday night to help No. 1 Mililani to a 3-0 win over No. 5 Kapolei in front of a senior night crowd of about 500 fans at John Kauinana Stadium. 

With the win the Trojans improved to 10-0 on the year and locked up the Western Division's top seed in the Oahu Interscholastic Association Division I tournament later this month. 

It was Mililani's 26th consecutive win dating back to the start of last season, when it ran the table and went 16-0 en route to a state championship.

The Hurricanes saw their five-game win streak come to an end and fell to 7-1-1.

"I'm pretty pleased because I think the last couple of games we struggled a bit to put the ball in the back of the net, so to come out today and really execute in the final third and get two (goals) right off the bat was a good start," first-year Trojans coach Alika Cosner said. 

Cosner's crew largely dominated the meeting of previously-unbeaten teams. It tallied 11 shots on goal to Kapolei's two and manufactured nine corner kicks, while the ‘Canes took just one. 

Mililani got on the board in just the 11th minute when Tamashiro put away a right-footed rocket from about 25 yards out into the left side of the goal. 

It was Tamashiro's eighth goal of the season and his second in as many games. 

"He's been on fire the past three games," Cosner said of Tamashiro, a senior wing.

"When he's on, that guy's on. I mean, he's lightning quick, he's a very forward-minded type of player, he's going to come at you and the fact that he's putting them in the back of the net right now is really helpful for us," Cosner said.

Just about four minutes later, Caleb Ishizaka placed his left-footed corner kick from the right flag into the six-yard box and Toguchi was there to head it just inside the left post. 

It was Toguchi's sixth goal and Ishizaka's sixth assist this season. Cosner credited the senior duo for their execution on the set piece. 

"We put in a lot of time on those. Every week we're spending one or two trainings just on set plays alone because we do get a lot of opportunities and corners and those throw-ins, so we spend a lot of time," Cosner explained. 

Not long after Toguchi found the back of the net, he moved from his striker position to the left back spot when the Trojans entered four substitutes. He also saw time at the right back position in the second half before he finished out the match back up top. 

Cosner pointed out Toguchi's versatility as a big benefit for the Trojans. Toguchi also takes most of the team's throw-ins and was able to place several of those tries inside the six-yard box. 

"It's great to have a player like him that's super flexible. He's athletic, he's a smart soccer player, he can play up the field, he can play in the back for us, his throw-in is a weapon — not many guys can hit the far post off a throw-in — so he's a dangerous threat for us," Cosner said. 

Kapolei took its only corner kick of the match in the 23rd minute, but it was unable to get a shot on goal off of it. 

The ‘Canes put a shot on goal just before halftime when Brennyn Yoshida booted a shot from distance on the right flank that was easily saved by Mililani goalkeeper Kobi Miyamoto.  

Yoshida, a sophomore forward, entered the match with 18 goals scored on the year, which ranked second in the state. Limiting his opportunities was a key component of Mililani's game plan. 

"He was a focus for us," Cosner said. "He was a big part of our prep this week. We know how dangerous he is. We made sure we had eyes and numbers on him at all times and if we had one player pressing, we made sure we always had one player covering, but he was still dangerous out there."

An indication of just how much Kapolei struggled Tuesday night came in the 67th minute, when it failed to convert a penalty kick after a foul by the Trojans in the box. 

"We definitely need to be sharper," Hurricanes' coach Keoki Haole said. "We need to be able to play our game from the get-go and not take so long to get going."

Not only was Kapolei shut out for the first time all season, it went without a single shot on goal after halftime. Haole tipped his cap to the opposition. 

"Mililani played well, they're a good team. It didn't really go our way with a lot of the possession or a lot of our touches, but Mililani is a good team, they apply good pressure and they earned it," Haole said. 

The ‘Canes had allowed just two goals all year prior to Tuesday and had shut out their last five opponents. 

Mililani, which added some insurance via an own goal in the 64th minute, registered its seventh shutout this season despite being without starting center-back Dylan Lum. Sophomore Rylan Sergent started in his stead. 

"He's out with an injury right now so we put a lot of time this week in just trying to be organized, being in sync, working together as a group, defending in numbers and they executed well today," Cosner said.  

Kobi Miyamoto registered two saves in goal for the Trojans, while Rush Alana made six saves for the 'Canes.

Kapolei is now tied with Campbell for second place in the OIA D1 West standings. It will close out the regular season against Nanakuli Friday night. 

Mililani will have a first-round bye in the 12-team OIA tournament.


Reach Kalani Takase at [email protected].




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