Tan Holdings FC rules beach soccer tourney

Tan Holdings Football Club went undefeated in the NMIFA 5v5 Beach Soccer Tournament to clinch the championship in last Saturday’s competition at the Fiesta Resort & Spa Saipan.

Tan Holdings Football Club players and coaches pose with their championship trophy after winning the NMIFA 5v5 Beach Soccer Tournament last Saturday at the Fiesta Resort & Spa Saipan. (Roselyn B. Monroyo)

The champion squad is composed of Mary Kay Alferos, Wincel Bubos, Milagros King, Jhaza Mirano, Jennifer Perena, Yechiel Tabora, Yvonne Zhu, Maica Aniana, Britanny Wally, and Catherine Barrozo. Alferos and company swept all their three games in the round-robin tournament to rule the weekend event that also featured teams from Independent FC, Kanoa FC, and Matansa FC.

The three other squads were tied for second to fourth place with similar 0-2-1 win-draw-loss records. To resolve the tiebreak, organizers went to goal difference. Matansa ended up at fourth with its goal difference of 3 (4 goals against subtracted from 7 goals for), while Independents FC and Kanoa were still tied with similar goal difference of 1. To break the deadlock, organizer went to goal scored with Kanoa prevailing as it nailed 8 against the 6 of Independents FC.

Independents FC and Matansa kicked off the tournament with a draw, 2-2, while Tan Holdings edged Kanoa, 3-2, in the second match. Bernadette Horey and Pratoom Stoffer scored one goal apiece for Matansa, while Melissa Borja and Terra Allen hit the board for Independents. In the Tan Holdings-Kanoa tiff, Perena drilled the go-ahead goal, while Wally logged the first two for the former. Kanoa drew both goals from Jeralyn Castillo.

After dropping its opener, Kanoa had to settle for a draw against Matansa in the third game of the weekend. Castillo also scored in Kanoa’s second assignment, while Jenny Lee registered a pair. Matansa got all its three goals from Horey.

In the fourth match of the tournament, Tan Holdings recorded its second win after slipping past Independents, 2-1. Alferos and Barrozo knocked in one goal apiece for Tan Holdings, while Allen was the lone scorer for Independents.

Tan Holdings went on to complete the three-game sweep with a convincing 5-2 victory against Matansa in the sixth and final match of the day. Wally and Alferos towed Tan Holdings to the title-clinching win as they posted two goals apiece, while Perena added one. Horey made the two goals for Matansa.

Earlier in the fifth match, a three-way logjam for second to fourth place was forced after Kanoa and Independents FC recorded the third draw in the tournament, 2-2. Castillo had a brace for Kanoa, while Independents got its two goals from Lina Manalili and Kallie O’Connor.