The CNMI Women's National Football team continues with its ongoing preparation for the 2nd Marianas Cup when they play against the Guam Nationals on April 26.
The team, which is now under the guidance of new national coach Nick Swain, looks forward to its second international match against Guam. The CNMI Men's National team will also compete against their counterparts from Guam the following day.
The CNMI will play host to both Guam squads in back-to-back matches that are expected to be highly competitive and exciting.
Tryouts for the CNMI Nationals began in November last year and the final roster was announced after 17 days.
Northern Mariana Islands Football Association Women's Committee director Francine Sablan said the team had no holiday break since they trained for most of December.
After a few days break for Christmas and New Year, the team began a month-and-a-half long conditioning program designed to increase their agility, stamina, and endurance.
Swain has been training the Women's Nationals five days a week and they play against other local teams as part of their preparation for the Marianas Cup.
Co-captains Emily Gries and Brenda Schultz, who are both returning national team players, will lead Team CNMI's campaign.
Schultz said this year's team is different from the previous one. “Some of our former players have moved away from the CNMI but we have young players who are the future of the CNMI women's program.”
Aside from youth players, Schultz added they also have some permanent residents included in the squad, which will serve as the backbone of the women's program for year's to come. “We have a young, fairly inexperienced, and cohesive team.”
Schultz said Swain is positive about the women's program as he sets a long-term vision for the National team. She added they are facing a tall order against Guam since it has an excellent women's program.
“They [Guam] are ranked 79th in the world out of 150 [countries], which is very good if you consider how small the population on Guam is compared to other countries.”
Schultz said she is pleased that this time they have a longer time to prepare for the Marianas Cup compared to last year where they have only six weeks to form the team. “We have become closer as a team and so far suffered less injuries. We now know better how each other plays.”
The last time the CNMI women's played against Guam was in December last year when a team of seven players saw action in a Futsal tournament and placed third out of 10 competing squads. It was CNMI Women's first time to compete in an indoor tournament, which saw Becca “The Wall” Newman earn the goalkeeper of the tournament award.
Saturday, April 5, 2008
CNMI WNT in the News
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