NMI beats Guam to complete sweep
The NMI Women’s National Team successfully completed the sweep of the NMIFA Women’s U21 Three Nations Cup after they won all four matches at the NMI Soccer Training Center in Koblerville.
Their final hurrah was against Guam last Sunday night as they put up a dominating 4-1 win in an intense matchup that brought out emotion and passion from both sides.
With this final, the NMI scored 10 total goals in four games to claim the championship. Guam came in second with seven goals and an even 2-2 record, while Mongolia scored a goal and lost all four matches to both Guam and the NMI.
In the NMI’s second and final matchup against Guam, back-and-forth action resulted in nothing but near misses and mini-heart attacks from both ends—with fans’ cheers and the beat of the drums in the backdrop of the fiery finale.
Both keepers—the NMI’s Toremy Baek and Guam’s Ahela’aoku’upu’uwai Kaae—had their work cut out for them, but both held up as the onslaught on their goals seemed to be nonstop—with goals inevitable at any time.
Then, before the end of the first half in the 41st minute the NMI’s Jannah Casarino broke the ice as she made a light touch toward an open goal after an accurate pass by teammate Aubrey Castro. Casarino outpaced Guam’s captain and as the keeper moved forward to block, Casarino kicked the ball toward the right side which slipped into the net faster than the defenders could stop it.
Gabrielle Race then got a goal off a header from a corner kick off Casarino in the 56th minute for a 2-0 lead. After that, Guam found an explosion of energy and just two minutes later, Cindy Maestrecampo found an opening to finally get them on the board, 1-2.
However, a case of mistaken identity caused a big blunder against Guam as Orung Santos shot an own goal in the 69th minute to give a 3-1 advantage for NMI.
From there, tensions were at an all-time high which brought about yellow cards upon both sides.
Then, after a foul on the NMI’s Andrei Kaithlyn Chavez toward the end of the match, she squared up in the penalty box for another chance at the goal. Guam’s keeper was no match as Chavez whizzed the fourth goal past her in the 86th minute for a 4-1 lead.
Five minutes were then added on the game clock after regulation, but Guam’s exhaustion and frustration—while the NMI’s electric energy and palpable victory didn’t allow Guam much possession until time expired—and handed the championship to the NMI.
NMI head coach Luam Khen Koo said that the tourney was “overall very good.”
On their sweep of it, he said, “CNMI soccer has improved a lot in the past few years and we’ve been preparing for this for quite some time.”
As for their final game, he said, “We started the game with confidence because we just needed to get a winning result, and we knew that Guam will try to get a good result too.”
To the fans, he said, “They have to come out more and enjoy, and support the local soccer. Thanks to all the fans that came out.”
For Race, she said that the game was exciting. “I personally had a little bit of a slow start. I haven’t played in a week but I think that the team played amazing and I think that we showed that we play together as a team—as one unit—and all of our hard work paid off.”
On how she felt scoring a goal, she said, “It felt amazing. I’m not really a player that scores, but to score on a header was especially exciting.”
In the tournament, she said the team played “amazing. The first game against Guam was a real tough one. They came back from being down 0-2, and won, 3-2, and I think it really shows our team spirit and that we don’t give up.
The NMI Women’s National Team with Casarino, Chavez, Race, Castro, and Baek, includes Deseha Mendiola, Christina Atalig, Dianne Pablo, Khristelle Itaas, Julie Chavez, Pia Ngewakl, Raven Anderson, Bernadette Horey, and Tamia Kileleman-Hix. The substitutes include Mariana Angeles, Megan Elayda, Sophia Quintos, Tyana Kileleman-Hix, Joselyn Atalig, and Toremy Baek.
Winners of the MVP, Golden Boot, and Golden Glove awards will be posted in the next issues of Saipan Tribune.
The NMI Women’s National Team poses for a group photo with Northern Mariana Islands Football Association executive committee members during the awards ceremony of the NMIFA Women’s U21 Three Nations Cup at the NMI Soccer Training Center in Koblerville last Sunday.
-LEIGH GASES
The NMI’s Jannah Casarino gets tangled up with a Guam player and tumble together during a heated exchange in the final minutes of their last matchup in the NMIFA Women’s U21 Three Nations Cup at the NMI Soccer Training Center in Koblerville last Sunday.
-LEIGH GASES
The NMI’s Andrei Kaithlyn Chavez, right, makes a beeline for the ball as Guam’s Emily Walton does the same during the first half of their last matchup in the NMIFA Women’s U21 Three Nations Cup at the NMI Soccer Training Center in Koblerville last Sunday.
-LEIGH GASES
The NMI’s Sophia Quintos sets up the play during their final matchup against Guam in the NMIFA Women’s U21 Three Nations Cup at the NMI Soccer Training Center in Koblerville last Sunday.
-LEIGH GASES
NMI Women’s National Team head coach Luam Khen Koo, left, and assistant coach Angie Ito speaks to the team during half time of their final game against Guam in the NMIFA Women’s U21 Three Nations Cup at the NMI Soccer Training Center in Koblerville last Sunday.
-LEIGH GASES
