4 survive Cup, Plate Championship opener

Players from Sun Palace, left, and the CNMI Women’s National Team collide as they battle for the ball during their game in M-League’s Plate Championship last Sunday at the Oleai Sports Complex Field. (Roselyn B. Monroyo)

In the Cup Championship, MP United shut down Paire FC, 3-0, while Tan Holdings FC also blanked Korean Football Association on Saipan, 4-0, in another Division 1 pairing. With their victories, MP United and Tan Holdings secured the last two semis berths in the Cup Championship and they will challenge the second-ranked Wild Bill’s and top-seeded Inter Godfathers, respectively, in this Sunday’s Final Four games. Wild Bill’s and Inter Godfather’s drew byes last Sunday and gained the automatic semis tickets after placing in the Top 2 in Division 1 of M-League’s fall season.

MP United joined the first two semifinalists after getting a hat-trick from Joe Miller. Miller made all his three goals in the first half, starting his streak in the 16 minute and getting his second 12 minutes later. He capped his strong first half with another goal, just four minutes before the opening frame concluded.

In the Tan Holdings FC-KFAS tiff, the former drew two goals from Sean Perez and one each from Russell Zapanta and Martin Jambor.

Both teams struggled offensively in early goings of the game, as they came from more than one week break. Zapanta then broke Tan Holdings’ silence with a goal in the 30th minute, while Perez also hit his target six minutes later to give the team the 2-0 halftime edge.

In the second half, goals continued to elude KFAS, while Tan Holdings got two more to seal the victory late in that frame. Jambor made it a 3-0 advantage with his goal in the 68th minute, while Perez completed a brace with his conversion in the 72nd.

Meanwhile, in the Plate Championship, Sun Palace and Shirley’s Football Club also advanced to the semifinals after ousting separate foes in the single-elimination tournament.

Sun Palace dominated the CNMI Women’s National Team in the third game of the weekend, 7-2, while Shirley’s downed the Thundercats in the final match, 4-2.

Joon Kim starred in Sun Palace’s easy win, scoring four goals, while Feng Chun Jin contributed two, and Heng Guo Piao chipped in one.

Piao opened the scoring for Sun Palace with his goal in the fourth minute, while the team’s remaining goals were all made in the second half, as the CNMI ‘s female players could not stop the bleeding in the final frame. Kim began Sun Palace’s second-half demolition with his two straight goals in a span of two minutes (64th and 66th) and he drilled two more, also in back-to-back fashion (83rd and 85th).

Kim’s two consecutive goals sealed it for Sun Palace after the CNMI bets moved within one, 2-3, with Diane Pablo and Sarah Allen scoring in the 61st and 71st minute, respectively. Jin’s goal in the 79 th minute gave Sun Palace more breathing room before Kim added two more and the former closed out the scoring, two minutes before the match wrapped up.

In the other Plate Championship match, Hojin Woo and Owen Ji came to Shirley’s rescue to help the team advance to the next round.

Woo scored in the 52nd minute to shatter the 2-2 deadlock, while Ji drained the insurance 20 minutes later. Shirley’s and the Thundercats engaged in a deadlock after the first half with Mareko Tekopua making the former’s pair of goals and Timothy Tawanpiy and Hyun Tae Kim hitting the board for the Thundercats.

Next up Shirley’s is Sun Palace, as they collide for the second finals ticket this Sunday at 7:30pm. Division 1 top finisher Matansa FC will battle the first finals berth against the winner of tonight’s playoff match between World Resort and Kanoa FC.