Hopwood 2 routs San Antonio in finale

Hopwood Junior High School 2 players and coach Jude Loste, standing second right, pose with their trophies during the awards ceremony for the girls division of the 2015 NMIFA U12 Interscholastic Football League last Saturday at the Hopwood pitch. Joining them in the photo is NMIFA staff Jershwin Angeles, standing left. (Roselyn B. Monroyo)

Hopwood Junior High School 2 romped past San Antonio Middle School, 8-0, to clinch the girls championship in the 2015 NMIFA U12 Interscholastic Football League last Saturday at the Hopwood pitch.

Paulyn Joyce, Katrina Costales, Jerlyn Del Castillo, and Therize Millare scored two goals apiece in the finale for Hopwood to give the Hilitais their first championship in the annual tournament that started in 2008.

Joyce hit back-to-back goals, breaking the ice for Hopwood 2 in the fourth minute and getting her second in the 10th. Costales also made it to the board in the first half, knocking in her first goal in the 17th to lift Hopwood to a 3-0 halftime.

San Antonio could not score in the first 20 minutes of play as Hopwood dominated possession and when the former occasionally attacked, the latter’s defense quickly stepped in to frustrate the eventual runners-up.

San Antonio’s misfortunes on offense continued in the second half, while Hopwood 2 kept going. Castillo made it a 4-0 advantage right in the second minute of the final half, while Millare recorded two straight goals in a span of two minutes (26th and 28th), and Costales bagged her second goal in the 30th minute. Castillo closed out for Hopwood 2 with her goal in the 39th minute.

The newly crowned champion school was coached by Jude Loste and Zachariah Johnson. Other members of the team are Melanie Dasco, Lovely Loyola, Joan Repoberbip, Leisha Sally, Sharmaine Francisco, Rita Agulto, Jaibelle Nelmida, and Keziah Reyes.

Hopwood 2 was unbeaten this season as it swept its six games in the two-round robin elimination. It advanced to the finals after whipping two-time champion William S. Reyes Elementary School in the semis last Thursday, 6-0.

San Antonio, on the other hand, won over Gregorio T. Camacho Elementary School in the semis, 2-0, to earn the right to face Hopwood 2 in the finals. Both Hopwood and San Antonio were in the Southern Group of the league with the latter owning a 3-0-3 win-draw-loss record and placing second to the former after the elimination. WSR and GTC, which finished third and fourth, respectively, after the Kingfishers posted a 2-1 win in the consolation match, were in the Northern Group.

Meanwhile, the organizing Northern Mariana Islands Football Association also handed individual awards besides the championship, perpetual, and runner-up trophies to the teams after the finale.

GTC’s Jannah Casarino took the Golden Boot award in the girls division for scoring 13 goals this season, while Mt. Carmel School’s Merrick Toves notched the same plum in the boys category for knocking in 7. Hopwood 2’s Millare and WSR’s Oliver Fajardo brought home the Golden Glove awards for not allowing their respective opponents to score a single goal.