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NMIFA names spring league’s best
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Posted on Sep 20 2011
The much awaited list of top performers in the 2011 NMIFA Youth Spring League is now out with the Northern Mariana Islands Football Association recognizing 31individuals for their outstanding performance at the pitch early this year.
Named to the Best 11 in the boys U15 league are MP United defenders Kennedy Izuka and John Taisacan, midfielders Angelo Jones and Dakota Hall and forward Jehn Joyner; Matansa goal keeper Dale Ballesteros and forward Sean Perez; Tan Holdings defenders Kenneth Domingo and Marc Mora; and Paire midfielder Hunter Jewell.
MP United ruled the boys U15 division after sweeping the two-round robin regular season, which started in March and concluded in May.
Besides competing for their respective teams in the spring league, Izuka, Taisacan, Jones, Hall, Joyner, Perez, Domingo, and Jewell also suited up for the CNMI U15 Team that joined the 2011 East Asian Football Federation U15 Youth Tournament. The Commonwealth strikers went on to record its historic first win in an international tournament after beating Macau, 2-1.
The girls U15 division also has its roll of top strikers in the past spring league. The list includes Matansa defender Natasha Quitano, forwards Tahlia Hideo and Andrea Camacho, and midfielder Jace Pineda; MP United defender Gabrielle Race and goal keeper Masami Sato; and Paire defender Juanita Muna and midfielders Seoung Hyun Lee and Mikaela Duenas.
Matansa topped the three-round robin league with a 7-1-1 record and 22 points to take its fifth girls U15 tiara. The eventual champion scored 23 goals with 12 of them coming from Hideo and six from Camacho.
In the boys U18, five players from champion MP United made it to the Best 11 list. Leading the cast are forwards Dae Min Jeon and Yong Park, defender Moon Bin Hong, and midfielders Taek Han Yoon and Chris Park. Joining the five MP United strikers are Matansa goal keeper Harrison Smith and defender Raphael Zapanta; Independents midfielder Celton Borja and defender Anthony Foster; and Paire midfielder Devin Atalig and defender Mason Fruit.
