
By Robert Balajadia
The opening round of the IIAAG girls soccer playoffs began Wednesday evening and the 8th seeded St. John’s Knights played host to the 9th seeded Okkodo Bulldogs in a tale of two halves. After trailing 1-0 in the first half, Knight Jenna Han went for two scores to complete the comeback for a 2-1 win.
Jenna, who said she’s more dangerous on a breakaway than her basketball legend dad Jin is behind the three-point line, got over twice as many touches in the second half than she did in the first. A good game plan by coach Ross Awa and willing teammates set the stage for Han.
“The game plan changed from moving me from mid-wing and center-forward to left wing,” said Han on the swap.
Han’s score in the 56th minute tied the game 1-1 and opportunity knocked once again in the 64th minute.
A bouncing ball inside the box with a mess of Bulldog defenders trying to clear it made for a difficult situation for Okkodo’s goalie Shermia Cruz. In the scramble, a handball was committed by the Bulldogs that set up a penalty kick.
Han put her shot to the right side, just beating the diving Cruz for the game-breaking score.
Okkodo’s offense looked strong netting the games first goal in the opening 10 minutes. Bulldog midfielder Ari Cruz weaved a pretty through ball between two Knights to set up a breakaway for teammate Joane Opolentisima, who tapped in a right footer past keeper Hana Fernandez to go up 1-0.
Even though facing the halftime deficit, the Knights never wavered.
“We just didn’t give up. The score was still zero-zero to us and my coach said to not wait for the perfect opportunity, but to instead make the perfect opportunity and that’s what I did in the second half,” said Han.
The Knights used a bulkier backline defense to keep the Bulldog scorers away from the box allowing just five shots at goal in the second half.
Up next for the Knights are the GW Geckos and their lethal scoring triple-threat on Saturday. The odds are stacked against the young St. John’s team, but Han explained their first battle begins in huddle.
“We first have to believe in ourselves. We got beaten by them in the quarterfinals last year too, so this is a chance for us to make a comeback and I hope we can defeat them,” said Han.
Other Scores
St. Paul 2, JFK 1
Sanchez def. Southern
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GPS Sports Calendar
March 2023
- SU
- MO
- TU
- WE
- TH
- FR
- SA
Events for February
28th
Events for March
2nd
ISA TRACK & FIELD MEET
IIAAG TENNIS LEAGUE
IIAAG BEACH VOLLEYBALL FINALS
Events for March
3rd
ISA TRACK & FIELD MEET
ISA GIRLS SOCCER FINALS
IIAAG BOYS BASKETBALL FINALS
ISA BOYS BASKETBALL FINALS
Events for March
4th
35th RAINBOWS FOR ALL CHILDREN 3.5 MILER
ISA BASEBALL LEAGUE FINALS
Events for March
5th
MONSTER ENERGY MOTOCROSS ROUND 3
Events for March
5th
Events for March
6th
Events for March
7th
Events for March
9th
Events for March
11th
GSPN PRESEASON BOYS VOLLEYBALL TOURNAMENT DAY 1
Bank of Guam Block Party 5K
Events for March
12th
Events for March
13th
Events for March
14th
Events for March
15th
Events for March
17th
World Athletics Indoor Championships
IIAAG BOYS VOLLEYBALL
Events for March
18th
PAY-LESS KICK THE FAT 5K/10K
World Athletics Indoor Championships
Events for March
19th
Events for March
21st
Events for March
25th
MARIANAS OPEN PRO JAPAN TOURNAMENT
IIAAG BOYS VOLLEYBALL
Events for March
26th
MONSTER ENERGY MOTOCROSS ROUND 4
Events for March
28th
ISA GIRLS SOFTBALL
IIAAG BOYS VOLLEYBALL
ISA BOYS VOLLEYBALL
Events for March
30th
ISA GIRLS SOFTBALL
IIAAG GIRLS SOCCER
ISA BOYS VOLLEYBALL
Events for March
31st
IIAAG BOYS VOLLEYBALL
HIGH SCHOOL FOOTBALL

Volleyball
EAGLES HOLD OFF WARRIORS IN 5 SETS

Jiu-Jitsu
MARIANAS OPEN TO TAKE OVER TOKYO

Volleyball
EAGLES HOLD OFF WARRIORS IN 5 SETS

Jiu-Jitsu
MARIANAS OPEN TO TAKE OVER TOKYO
COMING SOON …
- 4th Quarter Sports
QUICK HITS
Guam MTB National Championship: Edward Oingerang and Jennifer Camacho are your 2023 MTB national champions. Oingerang finished the course in 1:13:24 while Camacho won her second straight title in 54:08.
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Kobe Miyashita, with St. John’s coach Arvin Flores, was named the 2023 IIAAG Middle School Boys Volleyball MVP!