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By Kolby Chang
The GW Geckos earned their first win of the season by knocking off the FD Friars 2-1 in the IIAAG Boys’ Soccer League Monday night at the GW field. The Geckos’ record now stands at 1-2-1, while the Friars fall to 2-3.
Geckos’ coach Vince Naputi said his team lost some close games this season due to the midfield not making their presence felt but against the Friars they finally got a foothold in the game, played relentless defense and walked away with a win.
“I’m real proud of them. We’ve been working hard. I’ve got a real young team,” Naputi said.
Naputi added that he sees the result of the game as a confidence booster for the team and is looking to carry that into the rest of the season. ‘We choose to establish our middle and attack the outside. Last game we were attacking the middle and they were just playing defense in the middle. Today they kind of did what I asked them to do and it paid dividends,’ Naputi said.
In spite of the Friars controlling the ball for a majority of the first half, it was the Geckos who drew first blood in the 27th minute. The Geckos’ AJ Root lined up for a corner kick and placed it right to Ray Macinas who fired in a nice goal to make it 1-0. The Friars continued to push the ball but solid defense from the Gecko fullbacks and savvy goalkeeping from Joaquin Sanchez kept the visitors off of the scoreboard going into halftime.
The Geckos came out looking much more aggressive on offense in the second half as they probed the Friar defense searching for goals. The Friars, however, responded with some offense of their own and scored on a header by off of a corner kick in the 60th minute to knot the score at 1-apiece.
With the game now tied, the Friars picked up the pace and got a nice opportunity to score when CJ Paulino broke away from his defender and floated a sweet cross from the right side of the field that would have landed right about three feet in front of the keeper. Sanchez, however, read the pass and made a great leaping catch to prevent a goal.
The two Mangilao schools continued to battle for possession until the Geckos’ Ryan Quitugua found himself open about 10 feet in front of the goal amidst a scramble for the ball. Quitugua booted in the ball at the 72nd minute to seal it for his team.
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GPS Sports Calendar
January 2023
- SU
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- TU
- WE
- TH
- FR
- SA
- 1
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- 3
- 4
- 5
- 6
- 7
Events for December
31st
Events for January
1st
Events for January
2nd
Events for January
3rd
Events for January
4th
Events for January
5th
Events for January
6th
- 8
- 9
- 10
- 11
- 12
- 13
- 14
Events for January
7th
Events for January
8th
Events for January
9th
Events for January
10th
Events for January
11th
Events for January
12th
Events for January
14th
Events for January
15th
Events for January
16th
Events for January
17th
Events for January
20th
IIAAG BEACH VOLLEYBALL
IIAAG BOYS BASKETBALL
TRITONS BASEBALL INVITATIONAL
Events for January
21st
LIFT HEAVY + LIFT FAST – BFF SERIES
IIAAG BEACH VOLLEYBALL
Events for January
23rd
IIAAG BEACH VOLLEYBALL
ISA BOYS BASKETBALL
ISA GIRLS SOCCER
Events for January
24th
IIAAG BEACH VOLLEYBALL
IIAAG TENNIS LEAGUE
IIAAG BOYS BASKETBALL
ISA BASEBALL LEAGUE
Events for January
25th
ISA GIRLS SOCCER
ISA BOYS BASKETBALL
Events for January
26th
ISA TRACK & FIELD MEET
ISA BASEBALL LEAGUE
IIAAG BEACH VOLLEYBALL
IIAAG TENNIS LEAGUE
Events for January
27th
ISA TRACK & FIELD MEET
IIAAG BEACH VOLLEYBALL
ISA GIRLS SOCCER
IIAAG BOYS BASKETBALL
GLORIFIED SPARRING X
TRITONS BASEBALL INVITATIONAL
Events for January
28th
5K DASH FOR ASH
ISA BASEBALL LEAGUE
IIAAG BEACH VOLLEYBALL
Events for January
29th
MONSTER ENERGY MOTOCROSS ROUND 1
TRITONS BASEBALL INVITATIONAL
Events for January
30th
IIAAG BEACH VOLLEYBALL
ISA GIRLS SOCCER
ISA BOYS BASKETBALL
Events for January
31st
ISA BASEBALL LEAGUE
IIAAG BEACH VOLLEYBALL
IIAAG TENNIS LEAGUE
IIAAG BOYS BASKETBALL

Running/Track
’23 TRACK SEASON OPENS

Running/Track
’23 TRACK SEASON OPENS

Basketball
TAKUMI SIMON MAKING THE BEST OF PRO LIFE

Volleyball
H.S. BEACH VOLLEYBALL IN FULL SWING
COMING SOON …
- 3rd Quarter Sports