Matansa, 2 others reach playoffs
Matansa Football Club, Old B Bank, and Hana FC moved into the playoff round of the Marianas Soccer League Spring Season 2022 as the regular season competition in MSL 2 Division wrapped up last Sunday at the NMI Soccer Training Center in Koblerville.
The three teams finished with identical 4-1-1 win-draw-loss record to qualify for the knockout phase of the season that would also involve the five participating squads in MSL Division. This season’s playoff format calls for the three teams with the best record in MSL 2 and the first to fifth placers in MSL to battle for the championship.
The Old B Bank earned a 4-1-1 mark after a 2-1 win over Matansa last weekend. Jun Liu and Andrei Ferrer nailed the twin goals for the Old B Bank, while Harry Kapwich made the lone goal for Matansa.
Hana FC, on the other hand, cruised to a 6-1 triumph over the NMI Women’s Developmental Team for its fourth win in the double-round robin regular season. Ace Lee led Hana FC’s easy victory after firing four goals, while Don Cabrera and Sang Hun Lee chipped in apiece. The NMI WDT avoided a shutout loss after drawing a goal from Kaithlyn Chavez.
In other results in MSL 2, Shirley’s closed out the season with a 2-1 win over Bangladesh FC, while Saipan United got a free victory against Chang Bai Hu (forfeit).
Jerry Tan and Carl Salas registered the pair of goals for Shirley’s, which finished the season with a 2-0-4 record. Hmel Bapari logged the lone goal for Bangladesh FC, which had only one victory in six games in the competition.
Meanwhile, TanHoldings FC kept its hold to the top spot in MSL after whipping Kanoa last weekend, 12-0.
Kohtaro Goto led the victory with his hat trick, while Christopher Aninzo and Joshua Waldo contributed two goals each, and Joshua Abragan, Taka Borja, and Reginald Pascual hit one apiece. TanHoldings is still undefeated in five games to lead Paire (3-0-2), Eleven Tiger (2-1-1), NMI U17 National Team (1-1-3), and Kanoa FC (0-0-5).
Paire got win No. 3 after outclassing the NMI U17, 4-2. Brandon Tenorio, Ajani Burrell, Daniel Duenas, and Philip Megino scored for Paire, while the NMI U17’s two goals were courtesy of Markus Toves and Isaiah Hossain.
Teams entered in MSL has six playing days left before rankings are determined and pairings for the knockout stage are set. Pairings will be the No. 1 finisher in MSL vs No. 3 in MSL 2; MSL No. 4 vs MSL No. 5; MSL No. 2 vs MSL 2 No. 2; and MSL No. 3 vs MSL 2 No. 1. Since Matansa, Old B Bank, and Hana FC have similar records, their rankings will be decided by goals scored.
Published by Saipan Tribune - May 25 2022
