Twin wins for Matansa, MPU

Paire Football Club, left, and MP United players nudge each other as they chase the ball during the first half of their boys U17 division game in the NMIFA youth fall league last Saturday at the Oleai Sports Complex Field. (Roselyn B. Monroyo)

Matansa Football Club and MP United FC triumphed both in the boys U17 and girls U15 division games in the 2016 NMIFA Youth Fall League last Saturday.

At the Oleai Sports Complex Field, MP United edged Paire FC, 1-0, to bounce back from its opening week loss. The spring champion, which bowed to TanHoldings in Week 1, 1-2, drew its lone goal from Go Sekiguchi to barge into the win column this fall season. Sekiguchi found the back of the net in the 18th minute and Paire failed to counter, absorbing its second defeat in as many matches.

In the other game in the boys U17 division, Matansa eased past Kanoa FC, 8-0, to join idle TanHoldings at the top of the team standings. Matansa and TanHoldings hold similar 2-0-0 win-draw loss record with the former recording its first win against Paire, 11-2, during the league’s opening day.

In its second game, Matansa was still on target, scoring three goals in the first half and playing even better in the second after adding five more.

Jun Sik Kim, who had three goals in their victory in Week 1, had another hat trick last Saturday, nailing his first in the 28th minute and the last two in the 59th and 73rd. Jamesbonies Valdez put Matansa on the board with his shot in the eighth minute, while Evan Belcher also scored in the first half, converting a shot in the 39th minute.

Joshua De Leon was the fourth Matansa player to light up the board with his goal in the 44th, while he got his second in the 71st. Belcher duplicated De Leon’s feat as he earlier knocked in Matansa’s sixth goal in the 66th minute.

Kanoa, after failing to score anew, dropped to a 0-0-2 mark. Kanoa fell to TanHoldings, 0-5, in its season debut last Sept. 17.

GIRLS U15 Matansa 6, Kanoa 5
Matansa was also victorious in the second game in the girls U15 division after slipping past Kanoa.

Angel Sally and Guinevere Borja teamed up in helping Matansa (2-0-1) beat Kanoa (1-0-1) as they recorded three goals apiece with the latter completing her hat trick in the 61st and giving her new team the insurance.

Sally’s back-to-back goals in less than a minute (7:15 and 7:50) and Borja’s first in the 16th minute powered Matansa to a 3-0 advantage, but Kanoa refused to wave the white flag early and answered with two straight goals to remain in the game. Toremy Diaz handed Kanoa its first goal in the 31st minute, while Paulynn Joyce made it two in a row for their team to cut the deficit to one at the break, 2-3.

Borja’s goal just into the opening minute of the second half gave Matansa cushion, 4-2, but again Kanoa battled back with Joyce registering two straight goals in a span of three minutes (45th and 48th) for the first deadlock of the game.

Sally then broke the tie with her third goal in the 54th minute, while Borja brought Matansa’s lead back to 2, 6-4, when she hit the board seven minutes later. Kanoa threatened another comeback with Joyce earning her fourth consecutive goal in the 63rd minute, but Matansa hung tough on defense in the end to keep the lead and the win.

MP United 4, TanHoldings 1
In the other division game, Gillian Villagomez towed MP United to its first win.

Villagomez had a hat trick for MP United, which lost its season debut against defending champion Shirley’s Coffee Shop early this month. Villagomez scored early with his first goal recorded in the ninth minute. She then got her second less than three minutes before the 35-minute first half wrapped up.

After giving up two goals in the opening half, it was TanHoldings’ turn to make it to the board in the second with Marinel Joy Falalimpa finding the back of the net in the 43rd minute. However, MP United got the one goal back, thanks to Grace Choi’s shot in the 44th. Villagomez went on to close out the scoring for MP United as she logged her third goal in the 56th.