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The Honolulu Advertiser
Posted on: Tuesday, July 15, 2008

SOCCER
Three Hawaii teams strike gold at national soccer meet

By Leila Wai
Advertiser Staff Writer

Hawaii news photo - The Honolulu Advertiser

The under-12 girls team from Mililani was one of three teams from Hawai'i to win titles at last weekend's American Youth Soccer Organization's National Games at Waipi'o. The under-16 boys team from Kona and Pearl City's under-19 girls also won.

CURT YOSHIMURA | Special to The Advertiser

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Three Hawai'i teams captured titles at this past weekend's American Youth Soccer Organization's National Games at the Waipi'o Peninsula Soccer Park.

An under-12 girls team from Mililani, an under-16 boys team from Kona and Pearl City's under-19 girls squad all won their respective divisions.

"That's exciting," said Alan Heu, the AYSO National Games 2008 Venue Chair. "Now we know the level of play in Hawai'i; that the kids are doing well and can compete with the kids coming from the Mainland."

While teams are not recognized as national champions because teams qualified for the games by lottery, eight winners were crowned out of 180 teams from 16 states in under-12, under- 14, under-16, and under-19 boys and girls divisions.

"Overall I think a lot of the comments we heard was that everyone had an enjoyable time," Heu said. "I think it was a success."

Mililani went 4-1 in pool play to advance to the quarterfinals where it defeated La'ie, 3-1. It then beat South Gate of California, 2-0, in the semifinals before blanking Pleasant Hill (Calif.), 4-0, in the championship game.

Mililani had a 30-7 advantage in goals scored.

Kona went undefeated in the tournament, with a 5-0 record in pool play. Kona, which outscored opponents 28-2, beat South Redondo Beach of California, 4-1, in the quarterfinals, Hilo, 4-0, in the semifinals, and Ontario/Montclair, 2-0, in the championship game.

The Pearl City girls were also undefeated, outscoring opponents 38-2. The only teams to score on them were Hawai'i teams.

They defeated West O'ahu 2-1 in the quarterfinals, and Lake Forest of California 8-0 in the semifinals before taking down Mililani, 2-1, in the championship.

AYSO also recognizes Sportsmanship winners for each division. The winners are: under-12 boys, 'Aiea; under-12 girls, Honolulu; under-14 boys, Mililani; under-14 girls, Kailua; under-16 boys, Mesa Red Mountain (Ariz.); under-16 girls, Tarrytown (N.Y.); under-19 boys, Spartanburg, S.C.; and under-19 girls, Round Lake Area (Ill.).

The overall sportsmanship award went to the under-14 boys team from Mililani.

Reach Leila Wai at lwai@honoluluadvertiser.com.

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