Teen Ayuyus, TanHoldings share lead

The Teen Ayuyus’ Sunjoon Tenorio, right, tries to break away from his Okadaya defender during the second half of their Division A game in the M-League last Sunday at the Hopwood Middle School Field. (Roselyn B. Monroyo)

The Teen Ayuyus and TanHoldings are tied for the lead in Division A of the M-League following their shutdown victories last Sunday at the Hopwood Middle School Field.

The Teen Ayuyus, who are made up of players in the CNMI’s U16 and U18 training pool, blanked newcomer Okadaya, 3-0, in the final match last weekend for their second win in as many matches. Also improving to a 2-0-0 win-draw-loss record was TanHoldings, which topped Paire Football Club, 2-0, in the second game last Sunday.

Sunjoon Tenorio knocked in back-to-back goals for the Teen Ayuyus early in the second half to hand Okadaya its second loss in three games. Tenorio nailed his first goal just four minutes into the 45-minute half, while his second came in the 52nd minute. Thaiphi Austria drew first blood for the Teen Ayuyus in the 12th minute.

With its three goals, the Teen Ayuyus now have a total of seven—the most by a team so far early in the fall season.

TanHoldings is at second in the most goals scored with six after getting one apiece from Sean Perez and Joshua De Leon in their victory over Paire. Perez averted a TanHoldings shutout in the first half when he found the back of the net in the final minute of that period. The winning team’s second goal also came in late with De Leon hitting his target in the 84th minute.

Meanwhile, Kanoa and Matansa cruised to victories in the two other games played last Sunday.

Matansa clobbered the Women’s National Team, 10-0, in their Division B duel at the Koblerville Elementary School Field to move up to a 2-0-0 record for the lead in their group.

Kamrul Kamrul led Matansa’s easy win with his hat-trick, while Amzad Khan and Young Ha Hwang chipped in two each.

Back at the Hopwood pitch, Kanoa got a free victory (via forfeiture) against MP United, which did not have enough players for the curtain-raiser in Division A.

With the win, Kanoa is now at third place in the team standings with its 1-1-0 slate, ahead of Okadaya (1-0-2), MP United (1-0-2), Paire (0-1-2), and Sun Palace (0-0-1).

Sun Palace hopes to regroup quickly when it takes on Okadaya in the first game at 12pm this Sunday, while TanHoldings will shoot for win No. 3 when it faces Kanoa in the second Division A tiff at 2pm. In the last game in the group, the Teen Ayuyus also aim to extend their streak when they duel Paire. In the lone Division B match at Koblerville, Matansa will again meet the Women’s National Team.