Miura's late goal carries Moanalua over Leilehua
By Wes Nakama
Advertiser Staff Writer
Aaron Miura scored on a short goal in the 77th minute last night to lift the Moanalua High School boys soccer team to a 2-1 home victory over Leilehua in the O'ahu Interscholastic Association playoffs.
The victory advances the Menehunes (8-2-1) into today's quarterfinal against the Western Division's No. 2 seed, Pearl City (7-1-1). Kickoff is set for 5:15 p.m. at Kaiser. Leilehua, the West's No. 6 seed, ends its season at 4-5-1.
The Mules, however, gave it a tough fight to the finish. Winston Yee put Moanalua, the East's No. 3 seed, up 1-0 in the 23rd minute on a penalty kick that ricocheted off the right post and into the net. It came after Leilehua was called for a handball in the penalty box.
The Mules tied it in the 66th minute on an improbable, unassisted rebound goal by fullback Sam Fancher. After a scramble for a loose ball past midfield, Fancher got the ball alone near the box and punched it in after it first ricocheted off freshman goalkeeper Jonathan Baba. It was Fancher's first goal of the season.
"That gave them more of a fighting spirit," Menehunes coach Spencer Machado said. "It was anybody's game after that."
Moanalua actually out-shot Leilehua 9-3 in the second half, but Mules goalkeeper Steve Walker made five saves to keep the score tied until Miura's goal.
"(Walker) was outstanding," Leilehua coach Carl Friedl said.
Both keepers made several spectacular saves. Walker finished with eight saves, and Baba had four.
But the difference in the game proved to be Miura's goal, which came after Menehunes sweeper Colin Morikawa sent a through ball over a pack near midfield. Miura out-ran the group and dribbled the ball into the box, where he slid it past Walker and into the right corner of the net.
"They countered real fast and caught us in the transition," Friedl said.
Machado said it was a typical play for Miura, who led all OIA scorers with 13 goals this season.
"He's been doing it all year," Machado said. "It was like a breakaway, he just broke loose. With him and (forward) Nick Dang, we knew we could put pressure on them and I know we can score."
It may have come tougher than expected against the Mules, who allowed 24 goals in nine previous games.
"I thought we played well, we had a lot of scoring opportunities but they had some one-on-ones that they missed, too," Friedl said. "They're a good squad, but I'm real proud of my boys because they really put their hearts into it. I'm happy they came together."
Leilehua earned the respect of Machado, who said he was glad the game did not go into overtime or penalty kicks.
"They played well, they're a good team but they just didn't get the breaks," Machado said. "It's too bad, because they gave us a good, hard game. It was an aggressive game that wasn't dirty. It was just a matter of who made a mistake."
ROOSEVELT 4, WAI'ANAE 1: Holden Lau scored three goals and Justin Uyehara also scored to lead the Rough Riders (7-3-1) past the Seariders (4-4-2), who got a goal from Eddie May on an assist from Joshua Woodard.
KAPOLEI 2, KALAHEO 1: Rhys Kita and Brandon Pieper each scored to lead the Hurricanes (5-3-2) past the Mustangs (5-2-4). Sean Arthur scored for Kalaheo.
CAMPBELL 3, KAHUKU 0: Shaunsey Saito scored two goals and Rocky Otsuka added one goal to lead the Sabers (7-1-2) past the Red Raiders (5-6).
CORRECTION: Ambree Ako was the 'Aiea player taken down in the penalty box against Kaiser. Another player was mentioned as being fouled in yesterday's game story.
