MP United off to Guam tournament

  MP United Football Club will be sending three teams to the Club Challenge Guam 2012 that will be played this weekend at the newly built Guam Football Association artificial fields in Harmon.

The Typhoons are fielding their boys U12, U15, and U18 squads in the two-day competition, which will feature GFA clubs Wings, Sidekicks, Islanders, Strykers and Guam’s U14 and U15 national teams.

MP United’s U15 traveling team will have a 16-player roster and will be coached by Norman Del Rosario and managed by Betty Johnson. Carrying the cudgels for the club’s U15 squad is captain and forward Jehn Joyner, who will be joined by co-captain and defender Enrico Del Rosario, goalkeepers Julian Pellegrino and Gregzon Fontanilla, forwards Daniel Lim, and Jake Lee, midfielders Andrew Johnson, Sam Soledad, Dakota Hall, Angelo Jones, Jordan Butcher, and Ryota Ito, and defenders John Taisacan, Kennedy Izuka, John Masga, and Kaisei Toda.

“This tournament will be a big boost on MPU U15 Team as we will be playing against tough teams. Some of our players had already experienced competing abroad and when they come back they see things differently and begin to work harder in their games and practice more. This will also be a good training for MPU U15 since the NMIFA spring season is coming up this month. We have 10 former CNMI U15 National Team players who played against the Guam U15 National Team in last EAFF Tournament in Taipei so they are so excited to face them again because the level of game is very high,” Del Rosario said.

Del Rosario’s wards will be facing the Guam U15 team this Sunday at 11am after their debut game against the U14 Islanders tomorrow at 3:30pm.

MP United’s U12 team will be the first group to compete in the Club Challenge as it duels the Wings at 9am tomorrow, the Sidekicks at 2pm, and the Strykers at 5pm. Joel Jimenez will coach the MP United U12 squad with Lydia Tan serving as assistant and team manager. The team is composed of captain Moris Villanueva, goalkeeper Colin Ramsey and Ba Da Lee, defenders Gee Syu Hahn, Tae Kim II, Wataru Tajima, and Sung Wook Hong, and midfielders Clayton Izuka, Kentaro Kitagawa, Alex Pak, Amir Abes, Sun Joon Tenorio, and Steven Kim.

After its three games tomorrow, MP United U12 will have its fourth and final match in the tournament on Sunday against the Wings at 9am.

MP United’s U18 squad will have only two games with the first one versus the Guam U14 National Team A at 5pm tomorrow and the second and last against Team B on Sunday at 1pm.

Coach Brad Ruszala said although they will be facing much younger squads, skills-wise they may evenly match-up with the two Guam teams.

“It will be a close game and a great soccer match,” said Ruszala, who will be pinning his hopes on team captain Seong Joon Lee, Nam Ki Kim, Moon Bin Hong, Dae Min Jeon, Jin Han Yoon, Joshua Borja, Greg Kim, Jewong Hwan Kim, Bob Kim, Clay McCullough-Stearns, Chris Camacho, Yong Jun Jeon, and Evert Van Der Maaas.

Co-captain and MP United forward Yi Shan Wang will miss the trip due to travel document problems, but he let his teammates bring his jersey in Guam so he can still be with them in spirit.

Joining the IT&E and IP&E-supported MP United squads in the Guam trip are club president Vickie Izuka, U15 support group members Michelle Masga and Amy Taylor, and youth referees Rachel Masga and Quintin Ramsey.

“This is MPU’s second time to send traveling teams. The first trip was hosted by Vivid Blue in Japan for our U14 Select Team four years ago. Our officers, players, and their families have taken active roles in fundraising for this trip the past months and through their dedication and hard work and the generous support of many local businesses and individuals, the trip has finally become a reality. This is a very special time for MPU as the club decided to re-activate the Select Team program just a few months ago,” Izuka said.

“We are also very grateful to the Guam Football Association and its staff, coaches, member clubs, and referee committee for extending this invitation and organizing this wonderful opportunity and to NMIFA for their support of MPU,” she added.

Northern Mariana Islands Football Association general secretary Ed Salas on behalf of NMIFA wished MP United good luck.

“This is a great opportunity for our young players to compete against competitive teams from Guam and this can only improve their skills and knowledge of the game. Playing in an artificial turf will be different as I’m sure the ball will travel much faster, but it’ll be good for them. Wishing your select squads all the best of luck in the friendly matches,” Salas said.