By James Sablan
james@mvariety.com
Variety News Staff
HOPWOOD Middle School has been crowned the new champions in the girls middle school division of the PSS-NMIFA Interscholastic Soccer League SY25-26 after dethroning Saipan International School with a near-perfect performance, 10-1, in the championship match held Tuesday night at the NMI Soccer Training Center in Koblerville.
The finale lived up to its billing, proving to be a tightly contested affair — at first.
The action started quickly, with both teams battling for early control. However, in the midst of a midfield scuffle, a timely interception gave Hopwood the edge, leaving Anica Aquino with enough space to fire a shot and find the back of the net just three minutes into the opening half, 1-0.
SIS made sure not to repeat the same mistake twice as they reassessed their defensive strategy, successfully holding their ground through the next handful of exchanges. Their efforts were eventually rewarded through well-timed counters turned into transition plays, with lead striker Leilani Ruszala connecting the equalizer in the 10th minute — the first deadlock of the match, 1-1.
Unfortunately for SIS, that was the end of their reign as they fell behind for the remainder of the game.
HMS regained momentum just three minutes later with their second goal from Darshwana Chhetri, followed by Aubybuel Castro’s strike at the 20th minute for a commanding 3-1 lead going into halftime.
HMS then solidified the win with a dominant second-half performance.
Angel Calayag acted as the spark plug for HMS, connecting back-to-back goals in the 27th and 29th minutes, while Chhetri and Princess Gariguez added two more in the 35th and 36th minutes. Calayag returned in the 37th to complete her hat-trick.
Prolonged pressure also forced SIS into an own goal as they attempted to clear the ball from their area, before Gariguez capped the scoring with Hopwood’s 10th goal in the 48th minute. HMS triumphed 10-1, claiming the girls middle school division championship title.
HMS’ flawless performance was topped with individual awards as Calayag earned the Golden Boot trophy with 18 goals throughout the season, while Chhetri was named the tournament’s MVP.
Third place
In the battle for third place, Dandan Middle School edged Tanapag Middle School in an overtime shootout, (6)2-2(5).
James Sablan has been a sports reporter for Variety since 2013. He was a liberal arts student of Northern Marianas College and covers all local sports.
