MATANSA Football Club claimed the Marianas Soccer League 2 division title on Sunday, June 18, after shutting down MP United Football Club, 7-0, at the NMI Soccer Training Center in Koblerville.
Matansa were simply unmatched. Jordan Ruiz acted as the team’s sparkplug, scoring the opening goal eight minutes into the first half.
Although MPU held off the attack for over 20 minutes, Matansa eventually broke down the line of defense with never-ending pressure that allowed Arif Khan to find the back of the net at the 33rd minute mark, and Ruiz to add another goal five minutes later.
MPU then accidently scored in their goal to trail, 0-4.
Although MPU managed to slow down the pace of the game in the second half, they were still left silent while Matansa squeezed in three more goals. Harry Kapwich scored at the 38th minute mark while Ruiz completed the hat-trick with back-to-back shots for a blowout victory, 7-0.
Forfeit
On Friday, June 9, Chang Bai Hu quit before the second half to hand Matansa an “easy” win.
The first half of the match was filled with back-and-forth action with Chang Bai Hu establishing control and quickly overwhelming Matansa with constant pressure to set up Xu Ming Gueng for the finish after just four minutes of play.
Matansa recovered two minutes later with Houtom Cuohua finding the back of the net for the first deadlock of the game, 1-1.
Matansa continued to ride the momentum as Andrew Chang joined the assault, contributing a goal at the 12th minute mark to grasp their first lead of the day, 2-1.
Their time at the spotlight was brief, however, as Chang Bai Hu equalized just two minutes later thanks to the footwork of Joe Wang.
Chang Bai Hu then took over the driver’s seat again as Xu Ming Gueng fired his second goal at the 16th minute mark to regain the upper hand, 3-2.
But Matansa replied with three consecutive goals courtesy of Harry Kapwich who joined the scoreboard with a shot at the 20th minute mark, and Jordan Ruiz and Gabriel Arkoh who followed up with a goal each at the 30th and 40th minute marks to give Matansa the lead, 5-3.
Chang Bai Hu then decided to leave before the second half, resulting in a forfeit which is an automatic 0-3 loss.
Both teams shared a record of eight wins, one draw and three losses, but Matansa’s win over MPU gave them the MSL 2 division title.
