Aries FC nips Blue Ayuyus, 2-1

CNMI and Aries FC players pose with game officials before their friendly game last Saturday at the Oleai Sports Complex Field.
(Contributed Photo)

A better CNMI team played against Aries FC as the visiting squad from Japan won by only a point, 2-1, in their friendly game last Saturday at the Oleai Sports Complex Field.

Takuta Ito and Toshi Hagasawa scored for Aries FC, while Chad Shankweiller hit the board for the Commonwealth, which was represented my members of the CNMI Men’s National training pool players.

Ito drew first blood with his goal in the 41st, while Shankweiller nailed the equalizer, thanks to a feed from Yoshi Mafnas. The duo teamed up in giving the Blue Ayuyus their only goal in the friendly with Mafnas attacking to the left mid and Shankweiller sprinting on the opposite side before moving in near the center and receiving the timely pass from the former for the goal that came in the 60th minute.

The game remained tied for the next 15 minutes before Hasagawa broke the deadlock with his shot in the 76th. The CNMI had a chance to force a standoff anew with a couple of attempts, including the closest one from Joshua Abragan, who unloaded a shot near the spot where Shankweiller converted his. However, Abragan’s kick was a bit soft with the Aries FC goalie managing to push the ball out and foil the Blue Ayuyus’ bid for a draw in the closing minutes of the match.

“The game yesterday against Aries FC was very excited because our team played very aggressive both on offense and defense. We made some scoring chances during the game,” Northern Mariana Islands Football Association technical director and CNMI coach Kiyoshi Sekiguchi said.

“We lost to Aries FC, 0-5, last year. But this year, they won, 2-1. The results showed we are improving a lot,” Sekiguchi added.

Aries FC faced the CNMI Boys U18 National Team in last year’s friendly game and dominated possession en route to a shutout victory against the hosts.

Meanwhile, the Blue Ayuyus listed 19 players on their roster in their match against Aries FC last weekend. Joining Mafnas, Abragan, and Shankweiller on the lineup were Sunjoon Tenorio, Mareko Tekopua, Evan Belcher, Ryu Tanzawa, Alex Park, Joel Fruit, Jonathan Capayas, Ryan Relucio, Alan Hinson, Trey Dunn, James Ermitanio, John Diego Masga, Joshua De Leon, Kennedy Izuka, and goalie Joshua Galarion.

Majority of the players in the pool that played against Aries FC were in the 14 to 19 age group and were selected based on their performance in the group’s previous training sessions. There are over 30 players on the pool and they will face two more Japanese teams this month to prepare for the East Asian Football Federation East Asian Cup 2016 Preliminary Round 1 that will be held in July.