Women’s National Team gets first win

The CNMI Women’s National Team finally barged into the win column in the M-League after defeating Shirley’s FC, 4-2, last Thursday at the Oleai Sports Complex Field.

Jeraldine Castillo lifted the squad to its first win of the season after making a hat-trick against fellow Division 2 entry Shirley’s FC. The Marianas High School student scored early with her goal in the seventh minute and gave the CNMI Women’s National Team a 2-0 halftime edge after earning her second goal in the 38th.

After a scoreless first half, Shirley’s managed to force a standoff early in the second half behind the one goal apiece of Jerry Tan (50th) and Panapa Peteru (55th) before Castillo broke the deadlock with her third goal in the 71st. A goal from Alexa Vergara two minutes later gave the Commonwealth bets the insurance.

Sun Palace 2, Thundercats 2
In another Division 2 game last week, Sun Palace and the Thundercats had a draw.
Makani Gramlich nailed both goals for the Thundercats, scoring one apiece in the first and second half.
Heng Guo Piao also made it to the board in the first half to tie the match, while Alan Chan gave Sun Palace a 2-1 lead early in the second frame before Gramlich got his second goal and evened up the match anew.

Inter Godfather’s 4, KFAS 2
In Division 1’s fourth and final game last Sunday, Inter Godfather’s prevailed against Korean Football Association on Saipan.
Inter Godfather’s was on target in the first half, posting a promising 3-0 lead. Three different players scored for Inter Godfather’s with Ryu Tanzawa hitting the first goal in the 10th minute, followed by back-to-back goals from Peter Loken (43rd) and Masatoshi Otsuka (44th).
Ric Seo increased the lead to 4 with his goal in the 79th minute before KFAS answered with a pair of goals from Sung Su Jung late in the second half.
Wild Bill’s 2,
MP United 1
In the third game of the weekend, Wild Bill’s edged MP United.
Tanapon Unsa recorded both goals for Wild Bill’s, while Zhi Peng Lin drilled the lone goal for MP United. Lin scored first with his goal in the 35th minute before Wild Bill’s equalized off Unsa’s shot nine minutes later.
Both teams then struggled offensively in the second half before Unsa delivered the go-ahead goal in the 75th to hand Wild Bill’s another win.

Kanoa FC 3, Matansa FC 1
In the second game, Kanoa FC outclassed Matansa FC.
Junsik Kim heated up Kanoa FC’s offense with an early goal in the first half, while Yoshi Mafnas made it a 2-0 halftime lead with his goal in the closing minutes of the opening frame. Kanoa FC went on to take a 3-0 advantage, as Kim got his second goal past the halfway mark of the second half, while Matansa avoided a shutout out after drawing a goal from Abdul Shahanewaz.

Tan Holdings FC 1, Paire FC 0
In last Sunday’s curtain-raiser, Tan Holdings pulled off a 1-0 win over Paire FC.

Neither team managed to light up the scoreboard in the first half. Then in the second half, it seemed Tan Holdings and Paire were headed for a scoreless draw before Sean Perez finally hit his target seven minutes before the game wrapped up to lift the former to victory.