Paire nips MP United in girls U15 league

Paire Football Club’s Guinevere Borja, right, goes for a header, while two MP United FC players step in for defense during the second half of their game in the girls U15 division of the NMIFA fall league last Saturday at the Hopwood Junior High School Field. (Roselyn B. Monroyo)

Guinevere Borja lifted Paire FC to the close victory against its rival after scoring all three goals for her team. Borja got her first goal in the 16th minute to give Paire a 1-0 halftime lead, as MP United failed to find the back of the net in the first 45 minutes of play.

Gillian Villagomez then broke MP United’s silence with her first goal early in the second half to tie the match before Borja countered a few minutes later to bring the lead back to Paire. Another goal from Villagomez off a penalty kick forced the second standoff, which Borja eventually broke in the 67th minute.

The Paire-MP United tiff was played on Pitch 2, simultaneously with the Kanoa FC-Shirley’s FC tussle on Pitch 1. Shirley’s went on to post a contrasting win on the other end after cruising to a 6-0 triumph. Shirley’s drilled all six goals in the first half with five different players scoring for the team.

Jerlyn Castillo drew first blood for Shirley’s FC with her goal in the 48th, while Katherine Magat and Diana Maniacop canned the next two, finding their targets in the 50th and 53rd minute, respectively. Angelica Mia Carreon then registered back-to-back goals, while Jobelle Tabuena closed out for Shirley’s with her goal 10 minutes before the lopsided match wrapped up.

Joining Shirley’s FC and Paire FC in the winners’ circle in the opening week of the fall league was Matansa Football Club, which edged Tan Holdings FC, 2-1.

Lyka Sally and Maile Aldrich tallied one goal apiece for Matansa, while Chloe Salvosa posted the lone goal for Tan Holdings FC. Salvosa scored first, lighting up the board in the 33rd minute, while Sally equalized six minutes later. The go-ahead goal from Aldrich came in the 68th minute.

Meanwhile, four other games were played in the opening week of the competitive league.

In the co-ed U12, Tan Holdings FC and MP United FC dominated separate opponents.

MP United FC shut down Paire FC, 6-0, as six different players scored in the former’s rousing season debut. Eun Syu Hahn hit the board right into the second minute, while Kaito Sawaki made it a 2-0 count eight minutes later. MP United’s next two goals came in a span of three minutes with Go Sekiguchi firing one in the 26th and Rinto Takahashi in the 29th. Mark Esalan also made it to the board in the 63rd, while Oliver Lee registered the last goal in the game five minutes before the match ended.

In the other U12 game, John Michael Rojas had a hat-trick to power Tan Holdings to a 4-1 victory over Kanoa FC. Rojas logged two straight goals, scoring in the fifth and 11th minute, while Thaipi Austria posted Tan Holding’s last goal in the first half for their 3-0 advantage. Rojas completed the hat-trick in the opening minutes of the second half, while Kanoa avoided a shutout after Angelo Ada scored in the 80th.

In the lone boys U18 game last weekend, Tan Holdings also coasted to a debut win after whipping Matansa. Sean Perez led Tan Holding’s demolition, drilling six goals. Yoshi Mafnas chipped in three, while Ryan Relucio scored one.

The other boys U18 tiff between MP United and Paire FC, along with the two U15 matches last Friday were rescheduled due to the unavailability of the Oleai Sports Complex Field.