By Roselyn B. Monroyo
Variety News Staff

NMI football coach Jeff “Ziggy” Korytoski is tentatively set to leave Saipan for Ohio on April 19 and hopes that after he is gone his players will continue the development of the sport on the island.
The Northern Mariana Islands Tennis Federation brought Korytoski to Saipan from Wright State University where he is an assistant coach. He arrived on the island in February to prepare the men is and women’s national teams for their game against Guam.
The men’s squad met Guam in the East Asian Football Federation Championships preliminary playoffs on March 25 and last Sunday, while the women’s team battled the Guam female strikers in the first-ever Marianas Football Cup, also last Sunday.
The NMI dropped both matches, but Korytoski has not lost faith in his players and instead is giving them the responsibility to continue the development of the sport in the NMI.
Twenty-three players were listed on the NMI men’s team. They were Bruce Berline, Wes Bogdan, Kyle Cabael, Dave Duenas, Yoshi Gabaldon, Mike Hall, Peter Houk, Lucas Knecht, Chris Leon Guerrerp, Aaron Lewis, Eric Lister, Mark McDonald, Jon Mafnas, Leo Mendiola, Tyce Mister, Chris Nelson, Dale Roberts, Brad Ruszala, Jason Schroeder, Vince Stravino, Michael Thomas, Angelo Villagomez and Ben Wood.
McDonald scored both goals in the NMI’s 2-3 loss to Guam on March 25. Guam blanked the NMI, 9-0, in the second match in Harmon last Sunday.
The women’s team, which also bowed to Guam, 0-7, had Rebecca Newman, Allison Livingston, Lindsay Davis, Patricia Coleman, Sarah Helbert, Elisa Long, Sharma Divya, Rebecca Rath, Emily Gries, Angela Shryack, Morgan Pool, Irma Halaby-Morales, Zoe Jewell, Camryn Mosley, Melissa Halaby and Francine Sablan, in its lineup.
“When I go back to Ohio, these players are the ones who will help implement the soccer program in the CNMI. They are going to share with the youth what they have learned from our training sessions and from their game against Guam,” Korytoski said.
“The future looks good, especially with the kind of interest the community has shown for the sport in the past few months,” he added. “I hope when I leave, there will be more tournaments, especially for the kids.”
Korytoski said that when he first came to Saipan, the immediate goal was to coach the national teams, but the long-term objective was to build a strong foundation for soccer.
He said NMIFA officials built the foundation and when he came here, he tried to strengthen the foundation by sharing the fundamentals of soccer and his technical expertise in the sport with players and coaches.
Before Korytoski leaves, he said that he will be leading a series of clinics for students.