NMI Women’s National Team starts training camp in Guam
The NMI Women’s National Team begun its weeklong training camp in Guam last Thursday at the Guam Football Association National Training Center in Dededo.
Head coach Luam Khen Koo said that the training camp is a perfect opportunity to work on individual and group improvements and get the team ready for upcoming tournaments.
“As we’ve done with previous training camps, we will use this opportunity to further improve the team, and since there are no international competitions this year, we need to keep them in good shape,” said Koo.
“Initially, we were supposed to go to the Philippines to train at Tuloy Foundation’s XO Field and have our players experience a different environment and atmosphere. However, with the rising COVID-19 cases there, we decided to have the training camp in Guam,” he added.
The Women’s National Team is comprised of 19 players and four team officials. The delegation includes goalkeepers Mia Abuan and Deseha Mendiola; defenders Christina Atalig, Julie Chavez, Khristelle Itaas, Pia Ngewaki, Dianne Pablo, and Sophia Quintos; midfielders Allyssya Angeles, Guinevere Borja, Aubrey Castro, Kaithlyn Chavez, Stephanie Flores, Tamia Kileleman-Hix, Summer Manahane, Rizza Relucio, and Britany Wally; and forwards Jannah Casarino and Tyana Kileleman-Hix. Joining the players and Koo in the training camp are assistant coach Chi Ming Tang, team manager Irish Pagarao, and assistant team manager Emma Lee.
The delegation kicked off the training camp with daily morning training sessions, which will run until Wednesday. The team has also started playing in a series of friendly matches last weekend, losing to the Guam U14 Boys National Team, 3-6, on Saturday, before recovering the next day after beating the Southern Heat Club, 6-0.
On Monday, the NMI Women’s Team was scheduled to face Guam’s U17/U20 Women’s National Team at 6:30pm, while on Tuesday and Wednesday, the squad will continue to square off with their Guam counterparts, also in the 6:30pm matches.
The Northern Mariana Islands Football Association, which facilitated the team’s training camp, would like to thank the GFA under the leadership of its president Tino San Gil for hosting the visiting group. (PR)
Published by Saipan Tribune - Jul 12 2022
