Youth League Officially Kicks Off 2016 Fall Season

[September 18, 2016 – Harmon, Guam] – The long wait over the summer to play soccer is officially over for over 1,500 youth athletes in the Triple J Auto Group Robbie Webber Youth Soccer League as the 2016 Fall season kicked off Saturday at the Guam Football Association National Training Center.

“I’m so happy the league started again, I didn’t play all summer,” said 10-year-old Selvyn Boynton of the Bank of Guam Strykers FC. “When I was 4, I joined soccer because my brother (Preston) played and since then, I like playing because it’s fun. I hope my teammates and I can win a lot of matches this season.”

Thousands of parents, grandparents and other supporters braved the morning’s hot sun and the afternoon’s rain showers to cheer on the young athletes, with close to 120 teams in five divisions – U6, U8, U10, U12, and U14 – playing their first matches of the season. The league’s U17 division is set to begin Sept. 24.

Also kicking off Saturday were the U12 and U14 divisions of the Aloha Maid Minetgot Cup Elite Youth League with two matches played in each division. The U17 division of the Minetgot Cup, which kicked off earlier in the week, continued with another pair of matches.

In the U12 division, No. 1 ranked Wings won their opener with a 10-1 victory over the Strykers. Taiyo Kanekatsu and Andrew Choi each contributed a hat trick in the win and Nainoa Norton scored twice. Justin Joseph and Daisei Watabe also scored in the win. Jacob Reyes scored the Strykers’ lone goal.

The ASC Trust Islanders also started off with a win, a 6-2 victory over the Guam Shipyard Wolverines. Riley Rama scored four goals for the Islanders and teammate Jadyn Palomares scored twice. Alfred Leon Guerrero and Tyler Concepcion scored for the Wolverines.

In the U14 division, the No. 1 ranked Tigers displayed their prowess early with a 14-2 win over the Wolverines. Micah Hennegan led all scorers with four goals and teammates Robert Niu and James Lee each contributed a hat trick in the win. Kris Fernandez scored twice in the win and teammates Kainoa Ferguson and Jacob Lee also scored. Michael Lee scored twice for the Wolverines.

The Wings won 5-1 over Community First/Days Inn Dededo Soccer Club with goals from Taiga Simon, Mark Iseke, Andrew Kilgore, Sho Meyar, and Eddie Cho. John Halili scored Dededo’s lone goal.

In Round 2 of the U17 division, Wings Red defeated their Black counterparts 7-2 with a pair of goals from Noah Duenas and one each from Lars Peterson, Derek Okuhama, Ryo Suzuki, Alexander Errett, and Jordan Jasmin. Bruno Reyes and Tyler Presto scored for Wings Black.

In the division’s other match, No. 1 ranked Bank of Guam Strykers picked up a 2-0 win over Quality Distributors. Tevin Pangelinan and Xavier Naputi scored for the Strykers.

The U17 division of the Minetgot Cup continues Tuesday evening with Wings Red taking on Quality and Wings Black playing against the Strykers. Both matches will kick off at 7 p.m.

The Robbie Webber youth league and the U12 and U14 divisions of the Minetgot Cup will continue Saturday.