KOBLERVILLE Elementary School 2 and Saipan Community School will square off Thursday for the NMI Football Association-Public School System Interscholastic Soccer League championship at the NMI Soccer Training Center.
KoES 2 and SCS eliminated their respective opponents in the semifinal matches on Tuesday to earn their spots in the finals.
Against Saipan International School, KoES 2’s players were relentless, and it did not take long before the unguarded Jairoh Guilas found the back of the net to score KoES 2’s first goal
The Kobler players’ persistency gave them their second goal just two minutes later as Jose Maratita joined the scoreboard to give KoES 2 a 2-0 lead.
SIS managed to stop the bleeding, but only for a brief moment as KoES 2 eventually broke through once again at the 17th minute mark with Maratita connecting his second goal of the day to put his team ahead 3-0 before the halftime break.
SIS picked up the pace in the second half and fended off KoES 2’s attack.
However, at the 32nd minute mark, Maratita penetrated the SIS defensive wall to score his third goal and give KoES 2 a 4-0 win and a finals berth.
SCS vs KoES1
The other finalist, Saipan Community School, went toe to toe with KoES 1 in their hard-fought semifinal match which was decided by penalty kicks in overtime.
Algelle Surima was the only KoES 1 to score in the penalty shootout while SCS’ Ji Park and Soo Jin delivered two goals that gave their team a slot in the finals.
A KoES 2 player dribbles past a defender during an NMIFA-PSS Interscholastic Soccer League game at the NMI Soccer Training Center.
Photo by James F. Sablan Jr.
