EAFF win to inspire CNMI youth players

The CNMI Women’s National Team’s Jeralyn Castillo dribbles against two Macau defenders during their game in the Preliminary Round 1 of the 2015 EAFF East Asian Cup last week at the Guam Football Association Training Centre in Harmon. (Guam Football Association)

“I said that because most of the players on the team are from other sports. Some just learned how to play soccer when they came to Saipan and others just started playing two or three years ago. There are no players on the team who came from our grassroots and youth programs, but still with their hard work and determination they were able to win against Macau. Just imagine the kind of game they will bring at the pitch if these girls started early and have been into the program consistently,” said Tan, who led a recognition ceremony for the squad yesterday at the Nami Bar of Kanoa Resort.

The CNMI Women’s National Team clobbered Macau, 7-0, in Guam last week for its first win in an EAFF-sanctioned competition. Emily Maxberry, Megan Silberberger, Alexa Vergara, Carrie Schuler, Gabrielle Race, and Jeraldine Castillo scored for the Commonwealth bets. Other members of the team are Jhaneeka Atalig, Elaine Enriquez, Michelle Masga, Mikky Vargas, Marielle Gariguez, Jeralyn Castillo, Melody Johnson, Diane Pablo, Thea Minor, Elizabeth Phan, Krizelle Mae Tuazon, and Chevy Kate Alipio. Luam Khen Koo is the team’s head coach and had Wai Wo Lee as his assistant, while Chi Ming Tang and Mae Angeline Ito are the goalkeeper coach and manager, respectively.

“Now our young players look up to them. Our young players will realize that since they have been into the program for the past several years, they have a lot of time to learn and improve their skills so one day they can also be part of the women’s national team and equal or and even surpass the squad’s performance in the EAFF tournament,” Tan added.

The NMIFA head also said that after the team’s success, he hopes more female players will be encouraged to join the sport, especially in its youth program.

“Our youth program is the backbone of our national team, so we have to get consistent numbers of young players for our program,” the NMIFA president said.

Meanwhile, Ito said they will keep the team intact and play in Division 2 of the M-League in the next season to continue their training.

“We won’t be having any international tournament in the remaining months of this year, but we will continue to train and maybe have friendly matches along the way. We have to keep this momentum and let our players improve more,” said Ito, who took note of the different character the squad showed against Macau.

“They were not afraid to take shots against Macau. They were on the offensive mode, unlike in our game against Guam where they concentrated on defense and have only a few build-ups. Against Macau they were very aggressive, made lots of passes, and had great plays,” Ito said. “After that first goal (Vergara), it seemed everybody felt confident.”