Guine to play in college

The CNMI’s Guine Borja, right, kicks the ball, while Macau’s Ka Hei Chan tries to recover on defense during their game in the EAFF E-1 Football Championships 2019 Round 1 at the soggy Mongolian Football Federation Stadium in Ulan Bator, Mongolia in 2018. (East Asian Football Association)

Another pride of the islands has been given an opportunity to play in the collegiate ranks after many-time CNMI national team player Guine Borja signed a letter of intent to suit up for Navarro College.

Guine Borja poses for a photo after signing a letter of intent to play for the Navarro College Bulldogs in Texas last week. (Contributed Photo)

Borja’s new team is a member of the National Junior College Athletic Association, which oversees community college, state college, and junior college athletics throughout the U.S. The Bulldogs are the eight-time Region XIV champions, perennial participants in the NJCAA National Tournament, and once ranked No. 1 (2013) in the entire competition.

A product of the Northern Mariana Islands Football Association’s grassroots program, Borja is excited for the chance to compete in the collegiate level and thanked all the people who made this opportunity for her possible.

“I just want to say I could not have done it without the support of our community, especially our NMIFA president Jerry Tan and the national team coaches and staff,” Borja said.

Before deciding to play for the Bulldogs, Borja was a member of both the CNMI’s youth and women’s national teams that saw action in East Asian Football Federation and Asian Football Confederation-sanctioned tournaments. She last donned the Commonwealth colors in July 2019, scoring one goal in the CNMI’s 3-0 win over Guam in the Marianas Cup.

Borja was also mainstay of the Paire Football Club and had her mom, Patricia Coleman, as one of her early coaches.

Coleman recalled how her then 5-year-old daughter struggled a bit trying to keep up with kids whose skill level and athleticism are way better than Borja.

“She found it challenging and stopped for a season when she was 7. She did not appear as athletic as some of her teammates, but she always seemed to try her best,” Coleman said.

Borja eventually found her way back into the sport and credited her mom for keeping her in the program since then.

“My mom played a big role in pushing me to do my best no matter what,” said Borja, who blossomed to become one of the best scorers in the women’s adult and youth leagues on island and a regular with the national team.

With Borja opting to see action for the Texas-based Bulldogs, she will have the opportunity to work with a fellow national team player—Jamaica’s Alicia Wilson.

“We are very blessed and thankful that she will be training under the guidance of an outstanding coach, a former Jamaican national team player, and an inspiring women’s soccer trailblazer, “ Coleman said.

Wilson, who also played in pro leagues in Ireland and Costa Rica for six years, started coaching the Bulldogs in 2017 after serving as assistant at the University of West Florida and having an outstanding collegiate career with the William Carey University.

Borja is the latest player on the growing list of NMI bets who have gained a chance to experience what it’s like to play collegiate soccer. Last year, Sunjoon Tenorio and Dai Podziewski have also found a college team in Suffolk University, while Joshua Abragan made it to Boise State. Enrico Del Rosario, Gabrielle Race, Lucas Knecht, and Ryu Tanzawa were the early Commonwealth players to suit up for a college team and Borja hopes more will follow.

“I hope I can inspire more people in the NMI to work towards college soccer,” she said.