No. 1 Mililani takes on King Kekaulike in HHSAA DI boys soccer tournament

HONOLULU (HawaiiNewsNow) - The Mililani boys soccer team is coming off of an undefeated regular season and an OIA Title and the boys on Meheula Parkway are trying to add another Koa Head to their crowded trophy case.

Sitting at 13-0, the Trojans have only allowed three goals scored on them the whole year and the mindset doesn’t switch for the team, saying they’re not going to change what got them in this position in the first place.

“You know, a lot of it is just the same, just dialing it in now, we’re really just attention to detail.” Mililani head coach Steven McGehee told Hawaii News Now. “Making sure we’re taking care of the small things that could make a difference in a game or a tournament.”

Historically, Mililani has had a presence in the state tourney for years, but their last title was back in 2015 and with an early exit in last year’s tourney the team is ready to get over the hump in 2023.

“We’re just getting excited for the tournament.” MHS player Keegan McGehee said. “We still have the bad taste in our mouth losing quarter finals last year, which we hope won’t happen again this year.”

It also helps that Mill Vill gets their leading scorer, Andre Estaniqui, back after missing the OIA title game due to a red card he received in the second of their game against Kaiser. Estaniqui has netted 24 goals this year -- tied for the states best.

“With him back on the field, It helps us a lot.” McGehee said. “He stays in the game for pretty much the whole time, so it’s really helpful to have a player like him out there.”

Off the field, the team has had to navigate not having a place to practice as John Kauinana Stadium is being retrofitted with new turf, but they didn’t let that slow them down.

“Going into this season, we knew that the field was not going to be available at some point.” McGehee said. “So the word that we used was flexible, be flexible because we’re gonna have to be able to do things, you know, either off campus or somewhere on campus or somewhere within the community.”

Mililani now takes on reigning champions King Kekaulike and the Trojans are looking to dethrone the Kings.

“Obviously, were hungry for the title and they just won it, so who better to play against than the defending state champs.” MHS player Parker Patterson said. “So we’re obviously gonna go out, we’re gonna go out aggressive, we’re gonna play our game.”

Mill Vill’s game against Na Ali’i is set for Thursday at 3:00 p.m. at the Waipio Soccer Complex.

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