M-League holds Cup, Plate Championship

Inter Godfather’s Arkie Reusora, left, and Kanoa Football Club’s Marc Mora go after the ball during a game in the M-League early this year. M-League will conclude its season with the Plate and Cup Championship. (Roselyn B. Monroyo)

The Cup Championship, which will feature teams in Division 1, will have two games in the opener this weekend with MP United Football Club taking on Paire FC at 12pm and Tan Holdings FC clashing with Korean Football Association on Saipan on 2:30pm. Both are win-or-go home matches with the victors advancing to the semis and joining Wild Bill’s and Inter Godfather’s.

Inter Godfather’s and Wild Bill’s drew byes in the first round of the Cup Championship and automatically marched into the semifinals after clinching the Top 2 spots in fall season of the M-League.

Inter Godfather’s was unbeaten in four games this season, scored eight goals, and gave up two. It recorded its last win in the league against Paire FC, 1-0, off Chris Nelson’s goal in the 75th minute.

Wild Bill’s finished the season with a 3-0-1 win-draw-loss record and had the second most goals in the field with 12, while allowing its foes to make four goals.

MP United registered the most goals in Division 1 with its 12 and gave up three, but landed at the No. 3 spot with its 2-1-1 card. Tan Holdings FC, which nailed five goals and gave up nine, placed fourth with its 1-0-3 slate, beating KFAS (1-0-3) in the tiebreak, while Paire was at the cellar with its 0-1-3 record.

The winner of the MP United-Paire tiff will meet Wild Bill’s in the first semis game on Dec. 14 at 12pm, while the victor of the Tan Holdings-KFAS clash will challenge Inter Godfather’s in the second semis match the same day at 2:30pm. Winners of the Final Four matches will duel for the Cup on Dec. 21 at 6pm.

In the Plate Championship, which is for Division 2 squads, two matches will also take place this Sunday, while the final first round match is set for Dec. 9. Sun Palace and the CNMI Women’s National Team will collide in this Sunday’s 5pm tiff, while Shirley’s FC will face the Thundercats in the 7:30pm game. On Dec. 9 at 6:30pm, World Resort will square off with Kanoa FC at 6:30pm.

Matansa Football Club, which topped the division with its perfect 5-0-0 record, earned a bye in the first round and will not be playing in the Plate Championship until Dec. 14 in the semis against the winner of the World Resort-Kanoa FC pairing. The other semifinal game on Dec. 14 will feature the victors of the Sun Palace-Women’s National Team and Shirley’s FC-Thundercats matches. The Plate finals will also be held on Dec. 21 at 3:30pm before the Cup Championship.

Sun Palace finished second in the group with its 4-0-1 slate, followed by Shirley’s (3-0-2), World Resort (2-1-2), Kanoa (1-2-3), Thundercats (1-1-3), and CNMI Women’s National Team (0-0-5). Matansa scored the most goals in the division with 24, while Sun Palace allowed the least goals (6) and tied Shirley’s for the second most goals made with 15.