MP United Blue, Paire top foes

MP United U8 Blue and Paire Football Club were off to a good start in the 2009 NMIFA Spring Youth Football League, which kicked off last Saturday in various fields on Saipan.

MP United U8 Blue dueled sister team U8 Silver at the Garapan Elementary School Field, according to club coordinator Tina Goodwin.

”A very hot day did not prevent the enthusiastic kids from playing hard for two halves,” Goodwin said.

MP United U8 Silver had several chances to score with Jamin Elliot, Ken Song, and Francheska Bucalig leading the team’s attack. But Blue goalie Steven Goodwin was there to save the day for MP United U8 Blue.

U8 Silver goalie Naoki Kasai also made several saves against streaking Blue forwards until Gillian Villagomez, Alex Park, and Jayson Mariano found their target to lift Blue to a 3-0 win.

In the boys U13, Paire FC downed Independents FC, 1-0, at Hopwood Junior High School Field, while the former’s U6, U8, and U10 teams also won their respective matches, but scores were not recorded.

Five football clubs are joining this year’s spring youth league. Others on the list are Matansa FC and Tan Holdings FC, which have yet to release the results of their games last weekend. The league has competitions in six age groups, namely U4, U6, U8, U10, and U13, and the U18.

The U4 division has two teams from MP United and one from Paire, while U6 features nine teams, three from MP United, two from Paire, two from Matansa, and one each from Independents and Tan Holdings FC.

The U8 and U10 division have 10 teams each. MP United and Paire have three teams apiece in U8, Matansa has two, and Independents and Tan Holdings FC have one each. In U10, Matansa has three teams, MP United, Paire, and Independents have two apiece, and Tan Holdings has one.

The U4, U6, U8, and U10 age groups have co-ed teams, while U13 has a separate competition for boys and girls. Eight teams are entered in the boys’ U13, while the girls division has four teams. MP United, Independents, and Paire have two boys teams each, while Matansa and Tan Holdings have one apiece. In the girls’ division, Independents has two, and Paire and Matansa have one each.

In the U18, MP United and Paire have one team each in the girls and boys division.

Action in the spring league will resume this Saturday and interested players can still join one of the five clubs.

For registration, contact Tina Goodwin of MP United at 322 2072 or at tina@saipan.com; Christina Smith of Matansa at 285 9095 or at christina.m.smith@gmail.com; Rebecca Newman of Paire at pairefc@gmail.com; Michael Thomas of Independents at kavabilo@gmail.com.; and Ariel Mariano of Tan Holdings FC at 233-2898 or ariel_mariano@tanholdings.com.