3-way tie for Division B lead

Matansa Football Club defenders build a wall, while Sun Palace FC players wait for a free kick from their teammate during the second half of their Division A game in the M-League last Sunday at the Oleai Sports Complex. (Roselyn B. Monroyo)

Three teams got their second win over the weekend to share the Division B lead in the fall season of the M-League.

First to get victory No. 2 in as many matches was Kanoa Football Club after it blanked the CNMI Women’s National Team, 4-0, last Saturday at the Oleai Sports Complex Field.

Four different players scored for Kanoa with Jeon Min Soo starting things off for their team as he found the back of the net just five minutes into the game. Kanoa went on to keep a shaky lead at the break before pulling away in the second half as Ruselle Zapanta, Christian Buno, and Andruw Omelau hit the board in the 34th, 58th, and 73rd minute, respectively.

Kanoa handed the CNMI Women’s National Team its second loss as the latter failed to score anew.

Shirley’s FC duplicated Kanoa’s shutout win in the second game after topping the Thundercats (0-0-2 win-draw-loss record), 3-0.

Kosuke Sato again anchored Shirley’s victory after knocking in a pair of goals against the Thundercats last Sunday. Sato made four goals in their 6-1 season-debut triumph over Dragon FC. Panapa Peteru logged the other goal for Shirley’s in Week 2 as he converted his shot in the eighth minute. Sato’s goals also came in the opening half with the first one registered in the 21st and the second in the 33rd.

Joining Shirley’s and Kanoa on the Division B leaderboard was the CNMI Boys U16 National Team, which whipped Dragon FC, 6-0.

Mark Esalan sparked the Teen Ayuyus’ demolition of Dragon FC after drilling three goals in consecutive fashion. He began his hat trick in the 10th minute and the last two goals came in the 15th and 20th. The CNMI bets made it a 4-0 halftime advantage when John Michael Rojas found his target in the 30th minute. Louie Calayad and Anthony Fruit completed the Teen Ayuyus lopsided win in the second half after scoring in the 45th and 68th minute, respectively.

DIVISION A
TanHoldings 1, Paire 0
TanHoldings took the early lead in the division following a close win over Paire.

Jershwin Angeles scored the winning goal in the 61st minute to lift TanHoldings to a 2-0-0 record for first place in the six-team field.

The division leading team paces Sun Palace (1-0-1), MP United (1-0-0), Paire (0-0-1), Matansa (0-0-2), and Korean Football Association on Saipan (0-0-0).

Sun Palace 4, Matansa 0
Sun Palace barged into the win column after losing its debut following a shutout victory against Matansa.

Hyun Jun Roh recorded two goals for Sun Palace in the second half to cap the team’s dominance of Matansa, while Guangzhi Jin and Jun Sik Kim posted one apiece in the first half.

Sun Palace will go for its second straight triumph this Sunday at the Oleai pitch when it meets KFAS at 12:30pm. In an earlier match at 10:30am, Kanoa will vie for win No. 3 versus Dragon FC, while on Saturday at 4:30pm, it will be a battle between winless squads as the CNMI Women’s National Team duels the Thundercats.

Other games this weekend (Sunday) are TanHoldings vs MP United at 2pm at the Oleai pitch; Shirley’s vs CNMI U16 at 2pm at the Hopwood Junior High School Field; and Matansa vs Paire at 3:30pm at the Oleai pitch.