Dolphins vs Mantas in HS soccer finals

The Marianas High School Dolphins and Saipan Southern High School Manta Rays boys varsity soccer teams will go head-to-head in the finals after beating their respective foes in the semifinals of the NMIFA-PSS Interscholastic Soccer League last Wednesday at the Northern Mariana Islands Soccer Training Center in Koblerville.

Top seed Dolphins flew through fourth-ranked Mount Carmel School Knights, 6-1, while the third-ranked Mantas blanked second seed Saipan International School Geckos, 3-0.

The Dolphins’ Leland Deleon Guerrero kick-started the game when he broke through the Knights’ line of defense in the 10th minute for the first goal. Teammate Cody Shimizu followed up nine minutes later, with Jerald Aquino adding the third goal.

The Knights had yet to score going into the second half but then, in the 38th minute, Leo Naraja scored the lone goal for the Knights. However, Dolphin Brian Lubao completed the hat-trick right after for the final score of 6-1.

In the game against the Mantas and the Geckos, the Mantas’ Ron Patricio scored the first goal in the seventh minute. That was the extent of the damage done in the first half by both teams as they scampered for the goal but to no avail. Then in the second half, the silence was broken by Jonne Navarro and Simon Tang as they contributed the Mantas’ two final goals.

The finals is scheduled for next Tuesday, Dec. 13 at 5:30pm, while the bronze medal game is scheduled for 4pm.

Published by Saipan Tribune - Dec 09 2022