A Koblerville Elementary School 1 player attempts a pass as a William S. Reyes Elementary School defender closes in during a quarterfinal game in the elementary school co-ed division of the PSS-NMIFA Interscholastic Soccer League SY23-24 at the NMI Soccer Training Center on Wednesday.
Saipan International School and Kagman Elementary School players race for the possession during a quarterfinal game in the elementary school co-ed division of the PSS-NMIFA Interscholastic Soccer League SY23-24 at the NMI Soccer Training Center on Wednesday.
SAIPAN International School, William S. Reyes Elementary School, and Garapan Elementary School teams 1 & 2 reached the elementary school co-ed division semifinal round of the PSS-NMIFA Interscholastic Soccer League SY23-24 after eliminating their respective opponents at the NMI Soccer Training Center on Wednesday.
Thanks to a strong second-half performance, SIS outscored Kagman Elementary School, 3-1.
SIS controlled most of the possessions in the first half as they constantly pushed forward. Although KagES stood their ground, SIS’ relentlessness gradually wore down Kagman, creating a scoring opportunity for Kaylen Taflinger, who found the back of the net at the 19th minute mark for a 1-0 lead.
In the second half, SIS maintained their aggressiveness. After brief moments of back-and-forth action, two more SIS goals were added by Gabriel Walsh and Guy Pudney at the 36th and 44th minute marks.
But SIS made the mistake of lowering their guard, which allowed KagES’s Peyton Crisostomo to score and reduce the gap, 1-3.
SIS then focused on protecting their end of the turf for the remainder of the match to seal the deal, 3-1, and advance to the semifinals.
WSR vs KoES
WSR had a tough time getting into the semifinals, edging Koblerville Elementary School 1 in an overtime shootout, 3(1)-(0)3.
Both teams were equally matched as each had an answer for every goal scored.
WSR drew first blood with Darshwana Chhetri slipping a shot at the 6th minute mark, but this was quickly answered by KoES 1’s Andrey Ray two minutes later to even the score, 1-1.
In the second half, Chhetri connected her second goal, but KoES 1’s Liam Palacios delivered his goal two minutes later.
WSR managed to regain the upper hand after Chhetri scored her third goal.
KoES 1 seemed to have no answer this time around, but managed to step up their game in crunch time to cook up a last-minute goal courtesy of Ray at the 40th minute mark to tie the game again, 3-3, and force overtime via penalty kick shootout.
KoES 1 failed to convert any of their penalty kicks while WSR 1 managed to score one goal, which was enough to grasp victory, 3(1)-(1)3, and advance to the semifinal.
GES 1 and 2
Filling the remaining two slots in the semifinals were GES 1 and GES 2.
GES 1 silenced Saipan Community School, 7-0, while GES 2 slipped past San Vicente Elementary School 2, 2-1.
The semifinals will be played today, Friday, Oct. 11, at 5:30 p.m.
