It came in handy, as the Trojans scored two goals on set plays in a 3-0 victory over Kalaheo, in the O'ahu Interscholastic Association championship game for their third straight OIA title yesterday at Kaiser High School.

Mililani (12-0), which is also the three-time defending state champion, Kalaheo (8-4-2), Kaiser (11-2-1), Castle (9-3-1) and Pearl City (10-2) received the OIA's berths into the state tournament.

"Our coach, that's his bread and butter," senior midfielder Brent Murakami said of McGehee, who is in charge of set plays for the Trojans. "Every year we've scored an important goal on a set play."

Murakami, junior Justin Ching and senior Braden Tada scored goals for the Trojans.

"Two-thirds of our goals came on set pieces, so I guess we did well," McGehee said. "The big key was one of their big guys (Austin Kehrer) got hurt. That really helped out."

The Trojans, who struggled to mount a steady offensive attack in the first half, got their first goal from Ching off a Justin Kim throw-in in the 25th minute.

Kim, who easily reaches the front post, got the ball in to Murakami, who flicked it over his head to Ching who was running towards the back door.

"(Kim) had a nice throw and Brent flicked it and I saw the ball coming and I put it in the back of the net," Ching said. "I was hoping he would flick it to me because no one was on me. It was a good timing of the run and a good flick."

Mililani scored its second goal on another set play, again on a throw-in by Kim. Similar to the first throw-in, it was designed for a near-post run by Murakami, who again flicked it over his head. The play was finished by Tada, who headed the ball into the goal in the 62nd minute.

"It was exactly the way we wanted to run it," Tada. "We practiced that the whole week, thanks to coach Steve."

Tada said that set plays are "extremely important, it's something we get ourselves out of a hole with."

Murakami scored the Trojans' third goal in the 79th minute off an assist from sophomore Mark Sasaki. The duo worked a give-and-go, which set up Murakami just outside the six-yard box. Murakami took a touch and finished on a low, left-footed shot into the right side of the net.

Kalaheo coach Leo Titcomb said that his defensive strategy entering the game was to try to disrupt what the Trojans were comfortable running; mainly passes to players' feet, plays down the right side and midfield possession.

"But we couldn't take care of set pieces," Titcomb said. "That caused some problems for us and created opportunities for them. They have some weapons."

The Mustangs' defensive strategy worked for a while. The Trojans' first shot on goal came in the 20th minute on a 30-yard shot by Kim, which Kalaheo goalkeeper Ryan Kelly easily handled.

"We were struggling every time we got into the offensive third," Kim said. "Thanks to Steve. He's always thinking of creative trick plays. He asks for perfection."

Kalaheo senior forward Max Anton said that he was happy that the Mustangs received a berth into the state tournament.

"As least we're going to states, that's all that matters," he said. "They have too many weapons."

Note: It is the fifth time in the past six years that Mililani has won the OIA championship, all under co-head coach Jeff Yamamoto, whose wife Diane (Deedee) is in the hospital after undergoing her third surgery for cancer on the base of her tongue. "Everything was successful," said Yamamoto. "This is the third one and we're done. She's tough."

Reach Leila Wai at lwai@honoluluadvertiser.com or 535-2457.

Goals by Ah Sam, Choi lift Trojan girls over Kailua

Mililani strengthened its reputation as the capital of the high school soccer world last night, as the Trojans swept the boys and girls O'ahu Interscholastic Association championships for the third straight year at Kaiser Stadium.

Mililani's boys topped Kalaheo, 3-0, and the girls later blanked Kailua, 2-0.

The Trojan girls dominated offensively and got goals from Crystal Ah Sam (ninth minute) and Alexis Choi (66th) to deny the Surfriders, who were seeking their first OIA title.

"Kailua was second in the East (Division) and they had allowed only one goal, so we knew defense was a key for them," said Mililani's first-year coach Ray Akiona. "We tried to add more depth to our attack. We did not take them lightly."

Playing with a strong wind at their back, the Trojans out-shot the Surfriders 11-1 in the first half. But their only goal came after a Kailua defender missed on an attempt to clear a ball near the penalty kick line, and Ah Sam lined a shot into the upper middle portion of the net.

"She was trying to block me off, but I got around her," said Ah Sam, a junior.

Surfriders coach Wil Kimura said mistakes become magnified against a team like Mililani (10-2-1).

"They'll take advantage of things like that," Kimura said. "That's how good they are. But I really thought that if we kept their shots outside, with our keeper (Johnalynn Ilae) we might shut them out. That was the one shot that went inside."

Ilae kept the deficit at one goal by making six saves in the first half, several on hard shots from junior forward Sarah Yoro.

"Against a team like Kailua, I thought it's real important to get the first goal," Akiona said. "We were real aggressive in the first half, but we respected their goalkeeper's talent. We adjusted all our direct kicks, to go with more misdirection, out of respect for her."

The teams switched sides in the second half, meaning Kailua (9-2-2) had the wind advantage, but the gusts seemed to stop after the first 10 minutes. In the first half, the midfield flags were bending almost horizontally toward Koko Head.

The Surfriders took advantage of the wind and got two of its best shots early in the second half, but Trojans keeper Ashley Nakamoto made saves on both plays.

"If the wind stayed up, I definitely think it would have helped us," Kimura said. "But the wind died 10 minutes into the second half. And without the wind ... Mililani is a little more skilled than we are."

The Trojans got only five shots in the second half, but Choi cashed in with a line drive from about 20 yards out near the penalty arc off an assist from Yoro.

"I was at the left top of the 'D' and I tried to shoot it into the far corner," Choi said. "I wanted to get it over (Ilae's head), and it ended up in the left top corner."

Choi added that without the wind advantage, opportunities would not be as frequent as they were in the first half.

"We kinda knew that we needed to get our shots 100 percent in," Choi said.

Nakamoto saved two more shots to preserve the shutout.

"The wind was definitely a concern in the second half, along with the speed Kailua has," Akiona said. "I told (Nakamoto) to stay on the deep side, opposite with the wind. I give her credit because she made a couple of diving saves. She played in the shadow of Eryn (Kishimoto, a 2003 graduate) last year, but she has really come into her own."

The entire Mililani squad has had to grow up fast this season, after the graduation of four OIA West first-team selections (Kishimoto, midfielders Jen Loo and Liane Tom and defender Mallory Iha). They went 7-2-1 in the regular season and were seeded an uncharacteristic fourth in the West.

"At the beginning, it was a big challenge, but we knew we could pull it together," said Choi, a senior. "I'm proud of the girls because we just worked hard together and tried to do the best we could. And I think it turned out pretty darned good."