Thundercats clinch division crown

The Thundercats eked out a 1-0 win over Shirley’s FC in their last game of the season in the 2013 M-League to bag the Division 2 championship last Sunday at the Oleai Sports Complex.

Norman Camacho delivered the lone goal in the match, as he scored in the 40th minute. The Thundercats finished the season with a 6-3-1 win-draw-loss record and collected 21 points, four points ahead of Sun Palace, which owned a 5-2-3 slate. Shirley’s FC, which could have snatched the division championship had it defeated the Thundercats, settled for third after falling to a 5-1-4 card and getting 16 points. The CNMI Women’s National Team completed the field and managed to gain one win in nine games.

With the division win, the Thundercats will be playing in Division 1 when the M-League starts its 2014 season this Sunday. Joining Camacho on the newly-crowned division champions are goalie Greg Borja, Jordan Butcher, Frank Jeon, Don Cabrera, Kei Yoshida, Thomas Jung, Won Seok Sung, Woo Seok Choi, Juanito Tiamzon, Makani Gramlich, Keoni Borja, Michael Santos, Hae Lee, Angelo Gueverra, Eric Atalig, Bob Choi, and Tae Yeol Yun.

The Thundercats finished the 2013 season with a second-field best 27 goals and gave up only 11, the least among the four teams. Shirley’s FC had the most goals with 28, while Sun Palace and the CNMI Women’s National Team had 20 and 13, respectively.

Meanwhile, the winner of the Division 1 crown will be decided once the two remaining games are completed.

Wild Bill’s, which was scheduled to face Paire FC last night and will play MP United on its last game, is battling the division championship against Tan Holdings FC and Korean Football Association on Saipan. Pending results of last night’s game between Wild Bill’s and Paire, KFAS is clinging to a one-point lead (22) against Tan Holdings FC and two over Wild Bill’s. KFAS holds a 7-1-2 win-draw-loss record, Tan Holdings has a 7-0-3 mark, and Wild Bill’s owns a 6-2-0 card.
Completing the standings are Inter Godfather’s (5-1-4), MP United (4-0-5), Paire (3-1-5), Kanoa FC (3-1-6), and Matansa FC (0-0-10), which will be relegated to Division 2 for finishing last in the 2013 season.

Wild Bill’s and KFAS remained in contention for the Division 1 crown after settling for a draw in last Sunday’s game. Jack Thoensaket and Tanapon Unsa scored one goal apiece in the second half for Wild Bill’s, while Brian Lee and Chong Koo Gil delivered for KFAS.
In other results, Inter Godfather’s foiled Tan Holding’s bid to grab the division lead after pulling off a 1-0 win. Ryu Tanzawa scored for Godfather’s with only two minutes left in the match. Kanoa FC also managed to score one goal, courtesy of Marc Mora, to nose out MP United.