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CNMI U15 anticipates good game vs Mongolia
The CNMI Girls U15 National Team’s Theresa Toves, left, catches the ball while her teammate Patricia Surima looks on during their game against Chinese-Taipei in the EAFF U15 Girls Tournament 2017 last Tuesday at the Jinshan Sports Center in Shanghai, China.
(EAFF Photo)
The CNMI Girls U15 National Team is down to one game and is aiming for a strong finish as it faces Mongolia in the EAFF U15 Girls Tournament 2017 today at the Jinshan Sports Center in Shanghai, China.
“We will be playing against Mongolia for our last game. It is likely that they are a fairly new team. Because of this and now that the girls are accustomed to the weather here, the coaches are anticipating a good game. We will continue to encourage the girls to do their best and make our island proud,” said team manager Mikky Vargas in an email sent to Saipan Tribune a day after the squad dropped its second straight match, losing to Pool C favorite Chinese-Taipei, 0-8.
The Commonwealth bets played against their counterparts on Chinese-Taipei last Tuesday and though the former yielded eight goals—one more than they allowed in their debut loss to Jinshan—the Luen Khen Koo-coached squad showed some improvements and were a bit accustomed to playing under the cold weather.
“They are getting used to the briskness of the air. Many of them had difficulty breathing during their first match and our fitness suffered a great deal. During this game however, it was much easier on the girls,” Vargas said.
“On the defensive end, we were a lot more organized, compact, and disciplined than we were against Jinshan. We lost some goals because of our fitness. The girls would lose discipline and concentration when they are tired. Overall, the coaches believed that they played much better in this game,” said the team manager, adding that a few of their players are injured, but they still decided to play some minutes.
Patricia Surima suffered an injury while playing defense, as she tried to block a cross from Chinese-Taipei. She is recovering well and has expressed her willingness to play against Mongolia.
“The coaches understand the difficulty of playing three games in five days. They are trying their best to give everyone the time they need to recover for the last game,” Vargas said.
