Sharks, Royals set up rematch for title

The Simon Sanchez Sharks team came from behind yesterday to defeat the Harvest Christian Academy Eagles and advance to the Independent Interscholastic Athletic Association of Guam Girls' Soccer League championship game.

The second-seeded Sharks trailed 2-1 at halftime before freshman Jannel Banks' two second-half goals pushed them past the feisty Eagles at GFA field in Harmon.

"We just made a couple of defensive mistakes and they capitalized on them," Eagles coach Kristin Thompson said of the loss. "Sanchez is a hard team to beat, but we played our best."

Harvest's Heather Thompson, the team's leader all season, was determined to advance her team to the league championship, scoring the first goal of the game in the sixth minute. It was the first of two goals for Thompson.

The Sharks' Virlyn Gustilo evened things up in the 10th minute when she knocked in a wide-open shot on the right side of the net for the Sharks' first score.

Goalkeepers Novem Gimoto of the Sharks and the Eagles' Krystina Duvall both made several spectacular stops for their respective teams in the first half.

In the 23rd minute, Gimoto tried to make a play on a streaking Thompson, but Thompson was able to beat her to the punch as she nailed another score from 20 yards out to put the Eagles ahead again.

The Sharks must have had a healthy dose of confidence before the second half began. They were relentless in their offensive attack and pushed the pace on the Eagles, forcing them to make plays on the defensive side of the ball. The Sharks' persistence paid off when Banks kicked in her first goal of the game in the 43rd minute to tie the score.

The Eagles failed to take advantage of several scoring opportunities as Gimoto didn't let anything get past her in the second half. Gimoto's teammates showed their appreciation by putting up another score, a header by Banks, in the 50th minute.

The goal would eventually become the clincher and Sanchez celebrated a third straight trip to the title game.

"We played our best," added Thompson, "It's just really tough because we have eight seniors and they really wanted to win it (the championship) this year."