4-peat for MHS boys soccer team

It’s an unprecedented 4-peat for the Marianas High School Dolphins soccer team as they battled and won against a formidable Saipan Southern High School Manta Rays squad.

When the dust settled, Tyler Omelau’s clutch free kick clinched the win, 1-0, in 70+13 minutes added time during the 2025-2026 PSS-NMIFA Boys High School Soccer League championships on Thursday at the NMI Soccer Training Center.

The match was a thrilling back-and-forth battle between the season’s top two teams, and it didn’t disappoint. It was high-stakes soccer as MHS pulled out all the stops to defend their title, while SSHS tried to force an upset. The match was deadlocked at 0-0 from the opening whistle until deep into the second half, which had it all—from missed chances, to a goal that didn’t count, to a clutch kick—as it came down to the absolute wire in added time.

It looked like MHS’ Paul Lizama finally ended it in stoppage time, scoring in the 70+3 minute, but the goal was waved off for offside and the match stayed 0-0. After the SSHS’ main goalie was injured during the scramble, he was subbed out—and that was the beginning of the end.

With multiple great saves already made in the match, this was MHS’ chance to secure a goal once and for all.

The battle for possession and the race to the first goal picked up again, and a critical foul just outside the penalty area put Tyler Omelau in position to become the hero. With one kick, he broke through, converting on a free kick to clinch their fourth championship in a row. That kick earned him the Most Valuable Player award, while Lizama was awarded the Golden Boot trophy after finishing the season with 14 goals.

With Lizama and Omelau, who are national players, was a stacked lineup full of some national players as well. The roster included Takeru Jim, and Edward Arriola III, Dave Odicta, Gauis Ranada, Henry Yeom, Stephen Yeom, Jack Raho, Benneton Haro, Riku Takahashi, Rooney Gil, Terrel Kileleman-Hix, John Quidato, and Kristian Negara.

Dolphins’ head coach Don Cabrera said of the final matchup, “It was a lot of back-and-forth. Southern sat deep and they absorbed pressure really well, and they gave us a really hard time, but I knew that if we kept pushing, eventually the goal would come. It was a really tough game.”

He said earlier in the season it was a lot easier, but in the finals, SSHS brought their best and he said his team really earned the win.

After the first goal by Lizama was taken back due to it being offside, Cabrera said, “there was a lot of confusion, but I didn’t need to do much. They already knew that they just had to keep composed and the game wasn’t over yet. There was still time on the clock and there were more chances to score, so until the referee blows the whistle, just keep playing.”

Omelau and Lizama, along with a handful of others are graduating this school year, but Cabrera said he’s hopeful for a 5-peat next season with the rest of the team coming back to defend their title.