NMI U18 vs TanHoldings in MSL Cup Finals

TanHoldings Football Club and the NMI Boys U18 National Team will dispute the MSL Cup in the Marianas Soccer League Fall Season 2021 following their respective victories in the semifinals last Sunday at the NMI Soccer Training Center in Kobleville.

The NMI U18 booked the first finals ticket after nosing out Eleven Tiger, 2-1, while TanHoldings also reached the title match following a 2-0 win over Paire Football Club. The NMI U18 and TanHoldings will square off for the MSL Cup this Sunday at 6pm.

The unbeaten TanHoldings drew its pair of goals from Michiteru Mita and Rakib Hassan to reach this season’s finale, while Oliver Fajardo and Brian Lubao delivered for the NMI U18 to bring the youth squad to the championship game this weekend. Raymond Mercado scored the lone goal for Eleven Tiger.

The title duel in the MSL Cup will feature the Top 2 teams in the regular season. TanHoldings ended the preliminaries with a 5-0-0 win-draw-loss record and extended its winning streak after eliminating Paire, which advanced to the semis after shutting down the Old B Bank, 6-0. The NMI U18 was ranked No. 2 going into the playoffs with its 4-0-1 mark and needed the go-ahead from Lubao to oust Eleven Tiger, which notched a semis berth after nipping Kanoa last Wednesday, 1-0.

HAFA ADAI CUP

The One FC 3, Kanoa 1

The One FC advanced to the semis first following a victory over Kanoa at the start of the playoff round in the division last Friday.

Sang Hun Lee, Zhipeng Lin, and Seung Woo Lee scored one goal apiece for The One FC, while John Thongaram made the only goal for Kanoa.

Next up for The One FC is Shirley’s Football Club and they will collide this Friday with the first finals berth at stake. Shirley’s FC was awarded the walk-off win over Bangladesh Youth last Sunday.

Saipan United 7, Matansa 1

Saipan United also played in the first round of the playoffs last Friday and eased past Matansa.

Ichiro Borja led the lopsided victory after firing a hat-trick. MD Soheal Akanda chipped in two goals, while Kuu Nishimura and Enzo Yang added one each. Miles Linden recorded the lone goal for Matansa.

After knocking out Matansa, Saipan United will take on Chang Bai Hu this Friday for the second and last finals slot.

Chang Bai Hu 8, WNT U18 2

Chang Bai Hu moved into the Final Four after dominating the NMI Women’s U18 National Team last Sunday.

Ming Guang Xu starred in the win after registering five goals, four of them came in succession in the first half. Ri Chang Xian contributed a pair, while Zheng Xu had one. Pia Ngewakl and Jannah Casarino tallied the two goals for the NMI WNT U18.

Meanwhile, winners of Friday’s semis matches will battle for the division championship this Sunday at 4pm.

Published by Saipan Tribune - Dec 08 2021