Newcastle FC wins in shootout

Newcastle FC’s Sunjoon Tenorio makes a high kick, while Astig’s Alan Hinson, right, stays close in the play during the second half of their title game in the co-ed U16 division of the 2016 Saipan Soccer School Christmas Youth Futsal Tournament last Friday at the TSL Sports Complex. (Roselyn B. Monroyo)

Newcastle FC clinched the co-ed U16 division title in the 2016 Saipan Soccer School Christmas Youth Futsal Tournament after outgunning Astig, 3-2, in a shootout last Friday at the TSL Sports Complex.

Mareko Tekopua made the winning kick off Astig goalkeeper John Bucayo, while Guinevere Borja and Joshua De Leon scored the two other points for Newcastle FC in the shootout.

The Astig-Newcastle FC title match went to a shootout after the former’s Alan Hinson knocked in the equalizer in the last two minutes of the regulation and Sun Joon Tenorio faltered on his penalty kick in the final 30 seconds of the second half.

Earlier in the first half De Leon found the back of the net to put Newcastle FC on the driver’s seat. The eventual champion kept the shaky lead and had a chance to win the match outright when Bucayo left his spot in an attempt to steal the ball from an attacking Tenorio. The Newcastle FC striker then went for a quick release with the ball rolling to the right corner. Fortunately for Astig, Angel Sally stepped into the play and blocked the ball.

After the big defensive stop, it was Astig’s turn to attack with Hinson eluding three defenders en route to a shot from the center of the penalty box. A Newcastle defender was blocking the view of goalie Chris Aninzo so the latter did not see the ball coming as it rolled in, allowing Astig to tie the finale.

Newcastle then had a chance to break the standoff when Astig was called for a handball, sending Tenorio to the line for the penalty kick. However, Tenorio’s attempt was way wide to the right and the game had to be decided in a shootout as neither team scored in the closing seconds of regulation.

Anthony Fruit shot first for Astig, but Aninzo blocked the ball using his knee, while Borja put Newcastle on the board with her quick low shot that slipped in between Bucayo’s feet. Hinson then forced the deadlock when his straight shot went in and Tenorio faltered for Newcastle.

A left cross from James Ermitanio gave Astig the lead, but not for long, as De Leon also hit a similar shot to even up the count. Up next for Astig was Sally, whose shot was blocked by the quick hands of Aninzo. With the game still tied, all eyes were focused on Tekopua, who tried to ease the tension by hugging Bucayo before going for the kill. The CNMI Boys U17 National Team member then made the lob to Bucayo’s left to end the match and hand Newcastle the finals win.

The top-ranked Newcastle FC moved into the title game after dominating last qualifier Evan FC in the first semis game, 12-1. Tenorio led the easy victory after scoring five goals, while Borja chipped in four. Tekopua and De Leon contributed two and one goal, respectively, while Rintaro Miyawaki posted the lone goal for Evan FC.

In the second semis game, the No. 2 seed Astig FC also cruised to victory against Malo Fatu, 7-2. Hinson and Louie Calayag recorded two goals apiece for Astig, which drew one goal each from Ermitanio, Dai Podziewski, and Sally. Krizel Tuazon and Katrina Costales scored for Malo Fatu.

Malo Fatu settled for the third place honors in the division after slipping past Evan FC also in a shootout, 4-3. Go Sekiguchi had two goals, while Edwin Kim made one for Evan FC in regulation, while John Michael Rojas knocked in the pair for Malo Fatu, which gained one goal from Thaiphi Austria.