Pia Ngewakl of the NMI Football Association Women’s Team battles for possession against a Tuloy FC Women’s Team player during an LPK Cup match Thursday at the NMI Soccer Training Center in Koblerville.
Aubrey Castro of the NMI Football Association Women’s Team passes forward as a Tuloy FC Women’s Team defender reaches for the interception during an LPK Cup match Thursday at the NMI Soccer Training Center in Koblerville.
THE Northern Mariana Islands Football Association hosted the LPK Cup tournament, which saw the NMIFA Women’s Team vying for the title against three visiting teams at the NMI Soccer Training Center in Koblerville on Thursday.
The tournament honored the Tan Holdings matriarch, Lam Pek Kim, the late mother of Tan Holdings Corp. President and CEO Jerry Tan.
The event also featured the Tuloy FC Women’s Team from the Philippines, Shonan Bellmare FC U15 Girls Team from Japan, and the Chelsea Soccer School HK Women’s Team from Hong Kong.
Former Philippine President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo, the honorary chair of Tuloy FC, was the tournament’s special guest.
The tournament followed a single round-robin format of 25-minute matches.
At the time of this writing, the host NMIFA Women’s Team had a 1-1 win-loss record.
The NMI were outscored by the Chelsea Soccer School HK Women’s Team, 2-0, with Tsan Lai Mae connecting the first goal at the 8th minute mark and teammate Wong Kiu Ting scoring at the 17th minute mark.
The NMI, however, defeated Tuloy FC Women’s Team, 1-0.
It was an intense 20 minutes of action with neither team able to create space for a high-percentage shot.
Tuloy FC controlled most of the offensive possession with more shot opportunities. Although the NMI played the role of the defender throughout most of the exchange, their execution was what led to victory as they turned a successful stop into a transition play with Jannah Casarino capitalizing off the weakside to beat the goalie in a head-on collision and find the back of the net at the 23rd minute mark.
“Our first match was rocky but during our second match we really picked it up and got a good result,” Casarino said in an interview.
As for the game-winning goal, she said, “I’ve been waiting for that opportunity. We had a training match against them, but I didn’t get the chance to show my capability. But, in front of everybody, I got to show them how hard my team can play and how we got here.”
The NMI team has traveled abroad for international competitions, but this time, they had the home-court advantage.
“I think playing at home gives you that sense of pride — like my coach always says, we can’t lose at home,” Casarino said. “A home crowd gives us a boost to play well,” she added.
The tournament results will be featured in Variety’s next edition.
