PEARL CITY - In a classic defensive battle, visiting Mililani and Pearl City played to a scoreless tie Tuesday night in O'ahu Interscholastic Association Red West girls' soccer at Bino Neves Stadium.

The Trojans (3-0-1) came close to breaking the deadlock with about a minute to play when Mimi Nakagawa's shot from about 15 yards sailed just out of reach of Pearl City goalie Manaia Siana-Unutoa's out-stretched arms and struck the cross bar.

"I was just thinking, 'I really hope it goes in,'" Nakagawa said. "I was thinking this is the last chance we get because I know there's only a minute left."

She wasn't the only one high on anxiety.

"That was a hell of a shot," Pearl City co-coach Frank Baumholtz III said. "I kept say, 'Over, over.' Then when it got close to the goal, I said, 'Get out of there.' The goalie's hand was right there. I think if it were lower, she might have had a chance to block it."

The near shot was symbolic of how close the two teams played. But it there's no breathing room yet for both teams. The Trojans will face unbeaten Kapolei (4-0) Thursday at John Kauinana Stadium. The Chargers (3-0-1) visit Campbell on Thursday. The Sabers played the Hurricanes tough, losing 1-0 at Kapolei last week.

"Everybody knows going down to the last few seconds there was going to be an exciting shot," Trojans' coach Ray Akiona said. "It just didn't go that way, but at least we had that attempt."

The Trojans entered the game having outscored their three opponents, 22-0.

"Mililani's a great team," Baumholtz said. "We came out much better than everybody expected us to because they've run over everybody. We had a game plan and stuck with the game plan. I think we scared them a number of times in the first half."

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