Paire 2 tops grassroots festival
Paire Football Club 2 ruled the Northern Marianas Islands Football Association/Japan Football Association Grassroots Festival 2022 after winning all its matches in the weekend event held last Saturday at the NMI Soccer Training Center in Koblerville.
Paire 2 capped its perfect record in the competition supported by JFA with a 2-0 finals victory over Saipan International School. Jazzroy Villagomez made both goals for Paire 2, which had Patricia Coleman as coach. Also playing for the champion team were Beatrice and Windsor Gross, Austin Aldan, Dyson Danis, Joey Mostales, Angel Demapan, Jr., and Keoni Ruszala.
It was Paire 2’s second win in as many games against SIS, as the finalists crossed paths earlier in the round-robin play in Group A with the former taking a 4-2 triumph. Paire also dueled TanHoldings Football Club 1 and 3 in the elimination round and recorded a 7-0 and 3-1 victory to finish on top of Group A with a 3-0-0 win-draw-loss record and book a semis ticket.
SIS also notched a semis berth, as it finished second in Group A with a 2-0-1 slate. The Geckos defeated TanHoldings 1, 4-2, and TanHoldings 3, 2-1. SIS listed Elizabeth Culp, Leilani Ruszala, Jude Rayphand, Fin Altizer, Dean Duenas, Yutaro Kitagawa, Quido Jambor, Lukas Lee, Yun Hee Woo, Landon Pudney, and Theo Joab on its roster for the festival.
With SIS and Paire 2 securing the semis slots in Group A, they were paired against Shirley’s Football Club and TanHoldings 2, respectively, in the Final Four round. Shirley’s topped Group B after downing TanHoldings 2, 2-0, and Paire 1, 6-0. TanHoldings placed second in Group B, as it prevailed over Paire 1, 3-0.
In the semis, Paire 2 and SIS overwhelmed their respective opponents. Paire 2 shut down TanHoldings 2, 5-0, while the Geckos dominated Shirley’s, 6-1. Paire 2 went on to complete its strong run in the festival with a finals win over SIS, while TanHoldings 2 settled for the third place honors after beating Shirley’s in the consolation game.
The NMIFA/JFA Grassroots Festival 2022 was conducted to give children in the 9 to 11 age group opportunity to play soccer again after matches were suspended due to the COVID-19 pandemic. The event was also utilized to bring out players and recruit them to play for clubs that are preparing for the upcoming spring season of the NMIFA Youth League 2022.
MD: Paire Football Club 2 ruled the Northern Marianas Islands Football Association/Japan Football Association Grassroots Festival 2022 after winning all its matches in the weekend event held last Saturday at the NMI Soccer Training Center in Koblerville.
KW: Paire Football Club 2, Northern Marianas Islands Football Association/Japan Football Association Grassroots Festival 2022, NMIFA, Saipan.
Published by Saipan Tribune - Feb 10 2022
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