The CNMI U15 National Team is back on island after overachieving in the 2011 East Asian Football Federation U15 Youth Tournament held in Taipei, Taiwan.
The Commonwealth’s strikers, who were winless and scoreless in their first three stints in the youth tournament and then dropped its first four games in Taipei, did not only break its scoring drought in the EAFF-sanctioned event, but also notched a historic win after stunning Macau last Sunday, 2-1.
“It was more than what we expected,” said assistant coach Jershwin Angeles when asked if the team had accomplished its mission in last week’s tournament.
“Our players got better after each game. They played better game defensively and offensively. The boys finally adjusted and understood the defensive tactics coach Seki taught them during the Guam game,” Angeles added.
The CNMI lost to Guam, but limited the latter to only three goals. Last year, when Guam and the CNMI met in a consolation game in the same EAFF tournament, the former demolished the latter, 22-0.
“They gave their 100 percent game in every match. Teamwork and communication were there and they were really determined to win, especially after coach Seki told them before the Macau game that we will make history,” Angeles said.
The CNMI strikers made it into the history books despite their relatively young experience in international competitions and Northern Mariana Islands Football Association president Jerry Tan said this is a good sign.
“This historic win clearly shows that football in the CNMI is progressing well and steady. NMIFA is a relatively young sports organization with only six years of existence as compared to the 36 years of Guam Football Association. As a reference, it took Guam 34 years when it got its first ever international win over Mongolia in 2009,” Tan said.
“Football/soccer is the most popular sports in the world in almost every country, and most of them have over 70 years of history. It is very difficult to expect our national team to be competitive with only six years of existence. It would take us one full cycle of 10 years when our 5-year-olds would have played 10 years of soccer when they reach 15 years old to be as good as other countries’ players. This first international win over Macau gave us a lot of encouragement and confidence to know that our players are indeed improving and starting to be competitive with Guam, Macau, and Mongolia. Many of them will eventually become our men’s national team players in a few years time,” the NMIFA head added.
Angeles agreed that these youth players will be the future members of the CNMI Men’s National Team and he hopes the young strikers will continue to train for more competitions off-island.
The CNMI U15 National Team is composed of Jordan Butcher, Enrico del Rosario, Ethan Dickinson, Kenneth Domingo, Gregzon Fontanilla, Joel and Mason Fruit, Dakota Hall, William Hinson II, Kennedy Izuka, Hunter Jewell, Andrew Johnson, Angelo Jones, Jehn Joyner, Jake Lee, Sean Perez, John Taisacan, and Jirech Yobech.
Published by Saipan Tribune – July 30, 2011