MP United grabs boys U17 lead

MP United’s Go Sekiguchi, left, tries to get away from the defense of a Paire Football Club player to chase the ball during their first round meeting in the boys U17 division of the NMIFA fall league at the Oleai Sports Complex Field. (Roselyn B. Monroyo)

MP United Football Club moved up to the top spot in the boys U17 division standings after blanking Paire FC in their game in the 2016 NMIFA Youth Fall League last Saturday at the Oleai Sports Complex Field.

The spring champion grabbed the No. 1 spot from idle TanHoldings and Matansa after gaining a 5-1-1 win-draw-loss record. Matansa slid to second with its 4-2-1 slate, while TanHoldings (4-1-1) is ranked third.

Two playing weeks are left in the division and the remaining matches will decide which among the three teams will take the fall championship.

On Nov. 12, Matansa and TanHoldings will collide in a crucial 9am game with the winner to boost its title bid. MP United will not play in the penultimate week, which will also feature a match between Kanoa (0-0-6) and Paire (1-0-5). For the final week, MP United will face Kanoa in one of the two important games on Nov. 19. The other key match will have TanHoldings battling Paire. There are no games in the division this Saturday, as some members of the participating teams are in Japan for a training camp.

Alex Park and Sunjoon Tenorio are among the players attending the training camp and before they left for Japan they helped MP United shut down Paire. Tenorio scored in the 43rd minute, while Park also hit the board in the 72nd. MP United posted its other goal in the first half, thanks to Oliver Lee’s shot in the 22nd minute.

Matansa 7, Kanoa 1
In the other boys U17 division game, Matansa coasted past Kanoa.

Evan Belcher, Joshua De Leon, and Jun Sik Kim made two goals each for Matansa, which drew one from Lolobeyong Benito. Jhoey Noble registered the only goal for the winless Kanoa.

Kim lit up the board twice in the second half (20th and 30th minute), while Benito had his goal in the 26th to lift Matansa to a 3-0 halftime edge.

De Leon and Belcher then alternately scored for Matansa in the second half with the former getting his two goals in the 43rd and 69th minute and the latter in the 60th and 73rd. Noble broke Kanoa’s long silence in the 75th minute.

CO-ED U12
Kanoa 9, MP United-2 0
Kanoa kept the division lead after dominating MP United-2 in their game last Saturday at the Hopwood Junior High School Field.

Kanoa now has a 6-0-1 slate, slightly ahead of MP United-1, which owns a 5-0-1 slate. MP United-2 is at the bottom of the team standings with its 1-0-5 card, while Paire (2-1-3), and TanHoldings (1-1-5) complete the field.

Merrick Toves towed Kanoa to its sixth win after drilling a hat trick. Daniel Mar Pablo and Brian Lubao chipped in two goals each, while Jim Kurt Maniago and Ronian Laxamana added one apiece.

MP United-1 8, TanHoldings 4
MP United-1 stayed in contention for the season championship after downing TanHoldings in the other game at the Hopwood pitch.

Rohan Basnet led MP United-1’s win after recording four goals, three of them came in succession in the second half and in a span of five minutes (44th, 48th, and 49th minute). Rintaro Miyawaki and Andrew Chung contributed two goals each for MP United-1, while Oliver Fajardo and Kohtaro Goto had the same feat for TanHoldings.

The spring champion MP United has two games left (vs MPU-1 this Saturday and Paire on Nov. 12) and must sweep them and hope that Kanoa drops its match against Paire tomorrow to take the fall title.