Wild Bill’s tops women’s futsal league

Wild Bill’s has its name in the history books of CNMI futsal after ruling the Inaugural 2008 NMIFA Women’s Futsal Fall League Saturday at the Northern Marianas College Gymnasium.

Wild Bill’s defeated five other teams for the championship of the first futsal league in the Commonwealth. Futsal is an indoor football game with teams having five players each on the court. It demands quick reflexes, fast thinking, and accurate ball control. Games are played in a basketball-style court, with no walls and a low-bouncing ball, requiring players to use their skill rather than the ball’s bounce to propel it.

The champion squad was captained by Jamie Beavis and was composed of Fedora Camacho, Mel Borja, Maria Ornes, Connie Camacho, Nola Hix, Veronica Saures, Catherine Anderson, Lindsay Davis, and Chirapan McGuire.

Wild Bill’s secured the title after shutting out Marianas Technical Institute in the finals, 3-0.

The Law Offices of Matt Smith downed Marianas Medical Center, 3-1, in the battle for third place. Aon Insurance and Hardt Eye Clinic tied for fifth place.

The inaugural women’s futsal league had a round-robin format in the regular season. In the playoffs, organizers held random draws to determine the pairings and teams were divided into two pools.

Random draws were done in the playoffs instead of basing the pairings in the team standings after the regular season to allow female strikers to play without pressure.

“We did not even keep statistics for the regular season, as we want players to enjoy the games without thinking of winning or losing. This allowed them to have fun and just practice what they have learned from the futsal clinics,” said Laura Williams of NMIFA women’s committee.

The top teams in each pool then advanced to the finals with Wild Bill’s and MTI gaining finals entries before the former eventually won the title.

The runner-up MTI was composed of team captain Krista Hawley, Reyna Saures, Amanda Armstrong, Nikki Gabaldon, Meaghan Hassel-Shearer, Toi Punperm, Noi Horey, Chantelle Voutilainen, Jocelyn Saures, and Carrie Knight.

Meanwhile, Williams and the rest of the organizers of the league would like to thank the following for supporting the inaugural futsal event: Wild Bill’s, Matt Smith Law Office, Marine Technical Institute, AON Insurance, Hardt Eye Clinic, Marianas Medical Center, NMC Gymnasium manager and staff, and the referees.