By Mary Conner
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The MHS girls varsity soccer team took home first place at the Oahu Interscholastic Association (OIA) Girls Varsity Soccer Championship on Feb. 6 after defeating the Pearl City Chargers 2-1 at Kapolei High School. In the semifinals, the Chargers beat Castle High School 2-0 and MHS was able to defeat Moanalua 6-1, which set up the Chargers vs. Trojans clash at OIAs. During the Hawaii High School Athletic Association (HHSAA) Division I Girls Soccer Championship playoffs, MHS was defeated by Baldwin High School 3-0, whom Pearl City later defeated to become state champions. After their hard work during the regular season, the team was glad to see how it paid off and to end their season with an OIA title.
“It was a great feeling. Ending my senior year like this, even if we didn’t win a state championship, it’s still good to have an OIA (title),” said Defender Senior Taylee Miyamura. “We accomplished so much and we’ve come so far.”
After losing to Pearl City earlier in the season, the Lady Trojans knew they had to up their game in order to become OIA champions. “I think that because we were gunning for it from the beginning of the season, because we knew we lost to Pearl City during the regular season, this time we knew we didn’t have anything to lose,” said Miyamura. “This time it was them who had a target on their back. We just wanted to go for it.”
During the game, Miyamura put Mililani on the scoreboard with a corner kick 39 minutes into the game and was glad to have been a part of the win. “Honestly, I have to give all of the credit to my team because without them, I wouldn’t have been able to get that chance. I just try my best to contribute as much as I can to the team because I owe them that much,” said Miyamura.
Head Coach Ray Akiona put his players through extensive work to prepare them for such a major game. “We have practice six times a week. We (have) lots of team bondings and we do a carb-loading dinner the night before a big tournament,” said Defender Junior Jasmine Davis. “It’s kind of like a love-hate relationship because (Akiona) makes us run a lot, but we know that it’s for the better. The outcome, (I just think), ‘It happened,’ and we thank him for that,” added Miyamura.
Though Akiona put the team through extra practices, Akiona attributes the win to his players. “The win was contributed to many key elements. The student athletes are very talented, well skilled players and are very determined to perform their very best,” said Akiona. “Their motto was to be better today than they were yesterday, constant improvement through focused practice.”
The team worked on their playing abilities throughout the season, both on and off the field. “Our teamwork was the thing we improved on most. It was the most important aspect because although individually we’re talented, we’re nothing if we can’t work together,” said Davis. “We improved the most on teamwork, we worked better and got along as a team as the season went on,” added Defender Junior Kiilaweau Aweau.
Though the team had nine wins and one loss in the regular season, some were not expecting such a win. “I didn’t expect it, but going into the championship game, I had confidence in my team because I knew that we could do it and everyone wanted that OIA title so bad,” said Davis. “It felt great and relieving that our hard work was being rewarded but we also knew there was still a lot of work ahead,” added Aweau.
While they did not finish with a state championship, the Lady Trojans’ senior players are glad to have ended the season with an OIA title, and those returning hope to make the most of their next season.
