Islanders Observer #09 – Gimale Essacu

The Islanders Observer is back! After eight episodes talking about the foreign players from Pacific Islands that are currently playing the 2019-20 ISPS Handa Premiership season, Oceania Football Center crosses the world to talk about Oceanian players who are living the American Dream by playing the NCAA Division I Men’s Soccer Tournament, the main soccer league at College level in the United States of America.

There are dozens of Oceanian players in the USA but this episode will talk about a midfielder from Papua New Guinean who is playing in America since 2018: Gimale Essacu.

Essacu is a 22-year-old midfielder who has already played two seasons for Western Illinois Leathernecks in the Summit League, one of the 24 conferences that are part of NCAA Division I.

The Leathernecks did not have a very good year as they won only five of nineteen matches in 2019. Papua New Guinean Gimale Essacu was an active player throughout the season but not a key player in the squad. He played 12 matches in 2019 and delievered two assists. This is a good sign of evolution and we can expect a good 2020 season from him as he is having more gametime and playing in a decent level.