NMIFA kids continue season

The Northern Mariana Islands Football Association brought the final week of the regular season to a close as players in both the 8-and-under and the 10-and-under divisions wrapped up successful outings at the American Memorial Park on Saturday.

The 10-and-under division had plenty of players warmed up from the daylong action at the Garapan Elementary School pitch and Christian Miller was one of the Whispering Palms School Terns who swapped jerseys to help Winzler & Kelly defeat Team Deloitte, 2-0.

Miller led coach Paul Baron’s squad with impressive dribbling skills and was joined by Misaki “Take Me Out To The Ballgame” Cramer, who pulled double duty scoring a goal and stuffing shots in the first half. Teammate Kasai Toda’s goal got the Fat Lady warmed up and Winzler & Kelly’s tough defense set her singing as the team enjoyed a pedestrian win at the park.

Divisional action continued as coach Norman Camacho’s Dental Care team flashed its pearly whites to sour Shirley’s attempts at a win, 2-1. Led by a speedy Micah Griffin and a nearly impenetrable defense, Camacho’s squad was unfazed by Jake Lee’s goal and Jacob Jones’ presence between the pipes.

Close games were not only determined by the goals scored but by the ones that never found the back of the net—as was the case of the match between Subway and Ernst & Young.

Coach Peter Coleman’s goaltender Ben Sebangiol kept the Subway net free of scores despite several attempts from the E&Y guys. The contest was highlighted by a solid defensive struggle and neither keeper permitted the opposing offenses to celebrate a score by game’s end.

The sub-ocho kickers had plenty of running around to do in the afternoon session as John Alderich’s Pacific Islands Club team knocked off AON, 3-0. Youngster Maxi Braig was all over the field and used a combination of sprints, jukes, and boots, to lead the PIC. Ever the team player, Braig shunned the role of the ball hog with quality passes and ran back to help out the defense to round out a solid game.

As if playing a morning game in the NMIFA Women’s League and coaching her son Crosby in the DFS All Schools Tournament wasn’t enough, Brenda Schultz earned her soccer hat trick by coaching the Saipan Grand Hotel to victory over Larry Lee’s Top Notch team.

Kenyan Shultz and Carther Smith proved too much for Top Notch as they employed a powerful press that brought down Top Notch, 3-0. The duo spent almost as much time in the attacking zone as the Top Notch defenders.

Not all of the results were available, and while the 10-game slate provided fun for the players and their families, it paled in comparison to this weekend’s NMIFA Fall Festival of Football at the American Memorial Park.

The public is encouraged to stop by and catch a glimpse of the action as well as to make the most of the opportunity by signing up for the next soccer session with NMIFA organizers.

After this weekend’s festival there will be a lengthy break in the action on the AMP pitch, but players who enjoyed their time running up and down the Garapan Elementary School field during the DFS All Schools Tournament can still register for the new season, which starts in January.