By Roselyn B. Monroyo
Variety News Staff

THIS Sunday at 4 p.m. the NMI Men’s Football Team plays its first international game facing the Guam Nationals at the Oleai Sports Complex field.
“This will be a very special game for our players and the commonwealth and they are very excited to play on Sunday,” coach Jeff “Ziggy” Korytoski said in a telephone interview with the Variety yesterday.
The NMI has 23 players on its roster. They are 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. John Ravell is the team manager.
“It will be tough because we will be up against Guam, whose soccer program has been there for the past 30 years. But our team is ready to go all out this Sunday,” said Korytoski, who has been training the team for more than two months.
Korytoski is only on loan from Wright State (Ohio) University where he is an assistant coach. He arrived on Saipan early in February and since then has been leading the NMI team in rigorous training sessions.
“I’ve seen a lot of improvement since day one, from individual skills to team plays. We may not have professional players on the team, but these guys have been working so hard to the point that they sacrifice their work to attend the practices,” Korytoski said.
“They are very dynamic knowing that a lot is at stake here. They want to make a good impression in their first game and want to represent the island well,” the NMI coach added.
The winner of the Guam-NMI match will qualify for the East Asia Football Federation Championships in Macau, China in June.
Saipan is hosting the first game this Sunday, while Guam will have its turn on April 1. The team to score the most goals in two games will earn a ticket to Macau.
“You are going to see a well disciplined and self-motivated team,” said Korytoski, who is counting on the support of the home crowd.
“I hope the community will appreciate the efforts these players put in during the course of the training, by showing up at the game and cheering for the NMI team,” he said.
The Guam Nationals are scheduled to arrive tomorrow.
Korytoski knew little about the Guam National Team, which he heard is composed of young, but experienced players.
“Our team is a mixed group of young blood and veterans,” said Korytoski, who said their youngest player is 13-year old Knecht and the oldest is a 46-year old player.
“We’re hoping for a close game. But nothing is definite because as a former player, I know that once you are on the field, playing before a big crowd, all the adrenalin comes out and you can do things you don’t usually do in practice,” he added.
“Whatever happens this Sunday and on April 1, still it’s for the benefit of the soccer program in the NMI. This is just the start of bigger things to come for your beloved island,” Korytoski said.