NMI repeats over Guam via shootout

The NMI men’s team clinched the championship once again in this year’s edition of the Marianas Football Cup after a dramatic finish via a tie-breaking shootout in their last matchup against Guam during a torrential downpour last Sunday night at the NMI Soccer Training Center in Koblerville.

The NMI and Guam men’s U20 national teams played two matches last Saturday and Sunday, with the home team taking Game 1, 2-0. In Game 2, Guam rebounded and won, also 2-0, to tie the tourney up with three points each. Since they were both tied with two goals apiece, they had to play an extra 30 minutes in their last match, but no one scored, so they had to break up the tie again via a shootout of penalty kicks.

The NMI’s keeper Mark Chavez, who was crowned the tourney’s most valuable player, put a stop to Guam’s surging offense with a decisive save from an attempt by Micah Elwell. Guam went on to score four out of five PKs by captain Shuntaro Suzuki, Landon Diaz, Nicholas Moore and Curtis Harmon.

Meanwhile, the NMI kicked all five PKs past Guam’s keeper Josiah Jones. Dev Bachani secured the first PK, followed by captain Daniell Pablo, then Anthony Bergancia, Markus Toves, then the final tie-breaking goal by Andrew Sablan, for a perfect five PKs made to secure the title.

The first half of their last matchup was dry but storm clouds loomed above as an aggressive Guam team powered their way to NMI territory. Their tactics paid off as they scored two goals—one just three minutes in by Harmon, then the second in the 45th +3-minute time by Diaz.

Halftime was met with a torrential downpour, but the match continued after until the 58th minute when they had to delay it for 35 minutes because of the puddles that dotted the pitch. When the match resumed, both teams were soaked and duked it out on the rain-coated pitch as it didn’t let up even until the awards ceremony after the match.

The NMI and Guam’s intensity didn’t fizzle out from the steady downpour and in fact only waged on stronger, but both teams could not find the net—which led to the decisive shootout after regulation.

With Pablo, Chavez, Bachani, Bergancia, Toves, and Sablan were Paul Lizama, Akoni Matsumoto, Leo Takahashi, Casey Chambers, Cody Shimizu, Leland Deleon Guerrero, Nolan Ngewakl, Ariel Narvaez, Edward Arriola III, Ruben Guerrero, Wataru Kadokura, Anthony Austria, Tyler Omelau, and Monico Claridades. Konomi Suzuki was the head coach, while Jershwin Angeles was the assistant coach, Jireh Yobech was the assistant coach/team manager, Merrick Toves was the goalkeeper coach, and Hazel Mabasa was the physiotherapist.

The Guam team with Suzuki, Jones, Harmon, Diaz, Elwell, and Moore were Renzel Reburiano, Gavin Baker, Giacomo Bustamante, Nicolas Chargualaf, Aldryn Ednaco, Sean Halehale, Matthew Hodgins, Luciano Jameson, Takayuki Kobayashi, Mason Manibusan, Donovan Moss, Beau Perez, CJ Sablan, and Samuel Stenson. Dominic Gadia was the head coach, Michael Milner was the assistant coach, Jeroen Bos was the goalkeeper coach, Vance Manibusan was the team manager, and Ryan Claros was the team physiotherapist.

For 18-year-old Chavez, brother of NMI women’s team MVP in the NMIFA Women’s U21 Three Nations Cup, Andrei Kaithlyn, the tourney was “a fun and rewarding experience.” He said, “The team worked hard for this moment and we are looking forward to our next goal, the AFC qualifiers.”

The keeper of 10 years now said that since they played back-to-back games, he felt more tired than pressured. “Soccer is a game about trust and teamwork. Knowing that we all worked hard for this team I felt that I had to give it back to them by making at least one or two crucial saves.”

On his MVP award, he said, “I was surprised when I won the award. In addition to being surprised, I simply felt happy that I won it.”

He then thanked his and the team’s family for supporting them. “Without them, we would not be able to attend training, let alone play soccer. Secondly, I want to thank our coaches for guiding us during training. Without them, we would not be able to play actual soccer. Lastly, I want to thank all the people that came to watch the games. Without them, we wouldn’t feel any motivation to win the tourney.”

In last year’s Marianas Cup, the NMI men’s U23 team clinched the title over Guam after they won with an aggregate score of 3-1 over two games. Guam took Game 1, 1-0, but the NMI won big, 3-0, in Game 2 for its first Marianas Cup men’s title since its debut in 2007.