Soccer: Guam men’s U20 beat NMI; women’s game ends in draw

THE NMI men's U20 team lost to their Guam counterparts while the NMI women held theirs to a draw Sunday at the Guam Football Association National Training Center in Dededo.

The NMI men’s U20 defended well in the first half to deny Guam’s repeated attempts to score.

However, in the second half, Guam's persistency paid off with Riley Rama and Beau Perez scoring goals to beat the NMI, 2-0.

After the game, NMI men’s coach Michiteru Mita said, “With two games down, the NMI is taking a break from training matches and will return to the pitch on Tuesday for the men’s national team's second meeting against the Matao,” referring to the Guam men’s national team.

The NMI men’s national team lost to Matao 0-2 on Saturday.

The NMI men will play their second friendly match on Tuesday at 7:30 p.m., while the NMI men’s U20 will see action Wednesday, also at 7:30 p.m.

Women

The NMI women, for their part, drew against Guam’s women’s team, the Masakåda, 0-0, Sunday.

The NMI women won the first friendly game on Saturday, 4-0.

“I’m proud on how our girls showed composure on defense, preventing Guam from scoring, especially in the last 10 minutes of the game,” NMI women’s head coach Angie Ito said.

“They were also aggressive in counter-attacking. They did really well and I look forward to a more intense game [Tuesday night].”

The CNMI’s men and women soccer teams flew to Guam on Friday, Feb. 18, to participate in a week-long training camp.

Published by Marianas Variety - Feb 23, 2022