MP United are Pacific Oceans Cup XIV champs

For the first time ever, MP United Football Club has won the championships of the Pacific Ocean Cup outside of the CNMI and redeemed themselves after securing the trophy in the 14th edition last Sunday in Numazu, Japan.

The cup was hosted by Vivid Blue of Japan along with MPU FC, and featured five teams including the hosts and Kitaue Soccer School, Sawada FC, and Veluwe Football Shizuoka.

The tourney was for U12 boys teams with two overaged players allowed to play in each team. They competed in a round-robin format.

Last March on Saipan, MPU hosted the 13th POC and came in last place, while Vivid Blue came out on top. This time around, MPU won three out of four matches to bring home the championship trophy.

MPU first faced off against Kitaue Soccer School and won, 5-2. MPU’s Xavier Camacho, team captain Quido Jambor, Taiga Namai-Scoggins, and Landon Springer scored, while an own goal was made by Kitaue Soccer School.

The next match was a 5-1 final against Sawada Football Club. Camacho and Jambor scored two goals apiece, plus an own goal by Sawada Football Club.

Co-host Vivid Blue then fell to MPU, 2-0. Pudney scored a goal, while an own goal by Vivid Blue gave them the second.

Before the fourth and final match, MPU had already secured the championship trophy. They went on to challenge Veluwe Football Shizuoka, and lost, 0-4.

MPU already had secured a 3-0-0 record prior to this loss, while Veluwe had only five points with a 1-2-0 record. “So, the result of this last [match] could not change the fact of us bringing the trophy back to Saipan,” said MPU head coach Martin Jambor.

With Camacho, Jambor, Namai-Scoggins, Pudney, and Springer on the roster were Beau Bauer, Takara Hatamata, Evan Poole, Antonio Heras, Guy Pudney, Mateo Angeles, and Yutaro Kitagawa.

As for the team’s performance, Jambor said he was actually impressed. “This team has gone a long way since MPU hosted the POC tournament last March on Saipan even though this is a very young team and for most of the boys, it’s their very first experience traveling for such an event.”

Compared to last March, Jambor said the boys played with more confidence. “They have improved their skills and understanding of the game. In all games, we dominated physically and showed a lot of aggression in one-on-one situations.”

Jambor added that the strong performance in their first game set up the tone and their destiny to win the championship of the tourney. “I could see the boys had suddenly started believing that we won’t take the last place as we did last March, and we could possibly make some good results here in Japan. By gaining this confidence after a strong 5-2 win vs Kitaue Soccer School, we played our second game vs. Kanaoka Sawada Football Club where we dominated the whole time and won 5-1,” he said.

After securing the trophy and winning the next two matches, he made sure that their youngest players had a chance to play in the last game. Although they dropped that game, Jambor said the boys fought hard until the end.

He then said, “I am really proud of this MPU team! Every player had played a very important role in this young team. Our boys played way better compared to the previous Pacific Ocean Cup which was hosted last March on Saipan. Thank you very much coach Leith [Poole] and coach Rick [Bauer] for being my left and right hand. Amazing team effort and hard work paid off!”

“Thank you parents, sponsors, and supporters for all of your support with fundraising! The dream has really come true for MPU boys! Winning the international tournament away is something which is not happening every day in your life! Our boys will remember this for their entire life without any doubt! Please celebrate on Saipan, CNMI!” ended Jambor..

Published by Saipan Tribune - Sep 4, 2024

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