Guam earns third straight shutout victory in EAFF U15 tourney

[August 24, 2024 – Dalian, China PR] Consistent improvement and rewarding results over two matches lifted the Guam U15 Women’s National Team to its third-straight shutout victory, a 3-0 win over the Northern Mariana Islands at the EAFF U15 Women’s Championship in Dalian, China PR.

“The team as a whole steadily improves by little things, but a big improvement we have seen is the level of confidence we have in ourselves and in each other,” said Khae’ly Olpindo, Guam’s captain against NMI. “Over the last two games, we were able to recognize key things and the team was able to discuss what we needed to work on and implement in the game.

“We played a fair game while also staying connected as a team. Our team has good chemistry with each other and we were able to play to the best of our abilities,” Olpindo added.

The spirit of the island derby was on full display, with Guam taking just a 1-0 advantage at halftime after Iliana Figueroa finished a through pass in the 7^th minute.

Kylie Guzman, entering the match as a substitute in the 60^th minute, found her golden opportunity not even a minute later, finishing a Figueroa cross into the goal box to double Guam’s advantage.

Figueroa sealed Guam’s 3-0 win three minutes later, finding space to take a shot as NMI defenders struggled to clear the ball out of the penalty area.

Guam next plays against the only other undefeated team in Group B – Hong Kong China – Aug. 25 at 4 p.m. local time (6 p.m. Guam time). An Internet live stream of the match will be featured on the EAFF Web site: https://eaff.com/competitions/u15wc2024/result852.html

“Moving into our final match of the tournament, the team is excited and hungry to play another great match,” said Chyna Ramirez, Head Coach of the Guam U15 Women’s National Team. “It has been an incredible experience and the girls have represented our island well. The staff and I are so proud of these players who have sacrificed so much to be here in this tournament. Each match brought a different challenge that the team took head on and progressed, seeing the fruits of their labor.

“For the match against NMI, the strong spirit of the island derby was evident. It was a great battle between two teams of who wanted this win more, and Guam’s team came out on top,” Ramirez added.

In earlier matches, Guam defeated Mongolia 1-0 and next defeated Macau-China 2-0. Hong Kong China, like Guam, earned three shutout victories – a 7-0 win over Macau-China, an 8-0 win over NMI, and a 10-0 win over Mongolia.

Both Guam and Hong Kong China are the only teams to have posted three wins in three matches across both Group A and Group B in the tournament.

Tournament information is available on the EAFF Web site: https://eaff.com/competitions/u15wc2024/index.html