NMI Women's National Football team named

Monday November 26, 2007

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NMI women’s national football team named

By Roselyn B. Monroyo
Variety News Staff

TWENTY female strikers have been named to the NMI national football team after more than a month of training.

Making the list were Natalie Hill, Meaghan Hassel-Shearer, Katie Peters, Emily Gries, Rebecca Newman, Francine Sablan, Jennifer Linden, Maryana Gramlich, Lindsay Davis., Brenda Schultz, Zoe Jewell, Rima Halaby, Divya Sharma, Madison Smith, Elisa Fejeran, Nikki Gabaldon, Patricia Coleman, Ashley Hofschneider, Connie Camacho, and Amanda Allen.

Northern Mariana Island Football Association technical director Jason Higgins will be coaching the team.

Higgins, who conducted a series of tryouts for the NMI Women’s Nationals, is expected to continue holding training sessions over the next four weeks before the holiday break.

Next year, Higgins will be conducting 4 to 5-weeklong training sessions to prepare the NMI female strikers for the 2nd Annual Marianas Cup.

The Marianas Cup is set for spring next year with the NMI hoping to settle the score with Guam.

The NMI bets, who were coached by NMI coach Jeff “Ziggy” Korytoski then, suffered a 0-7 beating at the hands of the Guam strikers at the GFA Complex and Training Facility Field in Harmon in April this year.

In preparation for the rematch, the NMI bets will be playing weekly games against a U15 co-ed team and the Superstar Team. The “Superstars” are composed of selected players from the ongoing women’s fall league. Steve McKagen and Brad Ruszala are coaching the “Superstars.”

Last Saturday at the Oleai Sports Complex Field,, the NMI women’s football team played its first game as one squad and shut out the Superstars, 6-0.