Futsal league draws 16 teams

The 2011 Saipan Soccer School Futsal League lured 16 teams with three squads having winning debuts as competitions kicked off Monday night at the TSL Sports Complex.

Breaking it to the win column on their first try were Korean Futsal Team, Mellow Yellow, and Wild Bill’s. Other squads competing in the inaugural league are women’s division’s Thai Team, IT&E Blossoms, IT&E Awesome, Red Team, Kulet’s Team, and Shirley’s A and B. The men’s field has Docomo, Thunder Cats, IT&E, Mellow Yellow, Go Green, and Red Inter Team.

Korean Futsal Team played in the league’s opening game and defeated Docomo in the men’s division match, 8-7.

Jeong Jin Jeon had a hat-trick for Korean Futsal Team, making all of his goals in the second half. Korean Futsal Team took a 4-1 lead in the first half, as Si Young Heo, Sang Ho Choi, Jin Koo Cho, and Dae Won Jeon hit one goal apiece. Dae Min Jeon was the other scorer for Korean Futsal Team in the second half. Docomo’s lone goal in the first half was courtesy of Jaime Saiki.

Docomo went on to work its way back into the game in the second half, but still fell two goals short of winning its first game of the season. Trey Dunn had twin goals in the second half for Docomo, while Ropati Tonuu, Saiki, Dan Westphal, and Isra scored one each.

In the second game of the night, Mellow Yellow topped IT&E Awesome, 4-2.

Former CNMI National Team player Katie Peters, who is back on island for a visit, led Mellow Yellow’s triumph in the women’s division as she scored three goals. She logged two in the first half for their 2-1 advantage. Peters added one more goal in the second half, while Rose Lazaro also scored in the final frame.

IT&E Awesome’s goals both came from Connie Camacho.

In the second men’s division match, Wild Bill’s edged Red Inter, 7-6.

Wild Bill’s took the driver’s seat early, 5-1, before Red Inter made the move in the second half, but still lost by only one goal.

Jeeraphong Thoensaket started things out for Wild Bill’s, as he knocked in three goals. Adul Detdon and Jiayuan Guo posted one goal each for the team’s four-point lead. Masatoshi Otsuka put Red Inter in the scoreboard with his goal in the first half.

In the second half, Arkie Reusora found the back of the net twice, while Otsuka, Suguru Takahashi, and Ed Cruz nailed one goal each for Red Inter. However, Red Inter failed to steal the win, as Thoensaket answered with two goals and Guo added one more.

Four games were original set for the opening day of the futsal league, but the women’s match between Thai Team and Kulet’s Team was reset.

Matches in the league will be played every Monday, Tuesday, and Wednesday.