Stuttgart senior Itzak Sandoval watches his penalty go into the back of the net during a match against Ramstein on April 27, 2024, at Stuttgart High School in Böblingen, Gemany. (Matt Wagner/Stars and Stripes)
Two years ago Monday, the Stuttgart boys soccer team was shellshocked, losing its first match all season in the finale.
Almost immediately afterward, current seniors Ryan Stevenson and Itzak Sandoval made a pledge not only to avoid such a disappointing result, but also to change the culture of the program.
Before the Panthers take the field at Kaiserslautern High School on Monday for the start of the DODEA Division I European championships, that change has been evident. They haven’t lost a match since that final and picked up a European crown in the process – one of two teams in DODEA-Europe on such a run along with American Overseas School of Rome.
“The past two years, we’ve definitely changed things,” Stevenson said. “Practices are more serious. The seniors are actually serious, and they want to see other people succeed. We have different leadership these past two years than we had that sophomore season.”
The Panthers enter the tournament as the favorite to repeat after earning the top seed with a record of 8-0 (7-0 in the division).
Stuttgart has outscored its opponents 46-6, with just two conceded goals coming against D-I opponents. The number of shutouts (five) outnumber the number of teams who have scored on them (three).
Senior center back Jacob Schudel leads the backline, along with senior fullbacks Gabe Tamez and John Gilliland, who form a wall in front of goalkeepers Seth Harpuder and Caleb Fox, both of whom have seen action between the sticks this season.
In attack, the Panthers have a mix of seniors and sophomores. Sandoval and Stevenson provide plenty of goal threats, while sophomore Cristian Ingle picked up where he left off when he scored the title-winning goal last spring.
The Panthers also have showcased an ability to switch tactics, whether it be using speed to get behind defenses or maintaining possession while trying to break down defensive-minded squads.
“We have so many different weapons,” Schudel said. “We can play so many different styles of play, and I think we have a mature team.”
Although Stuttgart has won most matches this season handily, the defending champ doesn’t expect to waltz to the title.
Both SHAPE and Ramstein played the Panthers tough during the regular season, with the Spartans dropping a 2-0 decision on March 21 and the Royals conceding a late penalty in a 1-0 match on April 26.
Add in a Wiesbaden team that has recovered from a rough opening to the season, and the Panthers will have to earn the repeat.
“We want that challenge,” Stevenson said. “They’re all good teams. They definitely can beat us on a certain day, and we need to come strong to Euros.”
Division II
Just like Stuttgart, AOSR doesn’t anticipate this tournament being a cakewalk.
In fact, coach Giacomo Castelli said it will be a gauntlet of tough matches.
Sure, the Falcons are unbeaten with an overall record of 6-0-2 and 5-0-2 in Division II. But Naples (6-0-2, 5-0-2), last year’s runner-up, and Bahrain (2-0-2, 2-0-2) are also unbeaten, Marymount tied the Falcons in their final regular-season match 4-4 and Black Forest Academy picked up a win over Wiesbaden and only lost 2-0 to AOSR on April 13.
The AOSR coach said this year, it really could be anybody’s title when the tournament opens in Reichenbach-Steegen, Germany, on Monday and ends at Ramstein High School on Thursday afternoon.
“This year, the level is more even, especially the first four or five teams,” Castelli said. “They all show a lot of quality, all the teams we’ve faced, and I think it’s going to be a very good competition.”
The Falcons, meanwhile, have managed to reload once again after losing standout striker Gabriele Ghione to graduation.
A season after totaling 50 goals, the Falcons have amassed 40 heading into the tournament.
Players such as Andrea Torelli and Orlando Niolu have posted multigoal matches, while senior Valerio Di Cesare has put the ball into the back of the net in matches against Naples and BFA.
Despite its prolific goal-scoring exploits and success during the regular season, Castelli has warned his team from becoming complacent against anyone in the tournament.
“The important thing for us is never to underestimate anyone,” Castelli said. “So when we step into the field, anyone we’re facing whether it’s a higher-ranked team or a team that hasn’t won that much, we try to approach it the exact same way and try to impose our game.”
AFNORTH center back Nathan Goldsmith and Black Forest Academy striker Isaac Hinkle go for a ball during a match on April 20, 2024, at Ramstein High School on Ramstein Air Base, Germany. (Matt Wagner/Stars and Stripes)
Division III
AFNORTH has dominated the competition. All five league matches ended in mercy-rule victories, marked down as a combined perfect score of 35-0.
Even in the Lions’ two nonconference losses to BFA and SHAPE, they held their own, losing 3-1 to the Falcons on April 20 and 2-1 to the Spartans on May 11.
These results have coach Manny Duarte’s squad thinking it could end its title drought, with the last coming in 2018 when the Lions (5-2-0, 5-0-0) competed in Division II. But they aren’t counting their chickens just yet.
“We don’t want to get ahead of ourselves,” Duarte said. “We just want to take it one day at a time, take it one match at a time to see where we end up.”
AFNORTH has given up just five goals all season. Athletes such as Nigel DeBruin in goal and Nik Fulde and Nathan Goldsmith in defense give the squad a solid base.
“Defensively, we’re strong,” Duarte said. “We have seniors in the backline with a lot of experience. We have a very strong young keeper and we are disciplined back there.”
Santiago Aponte, Mateo Alfonso Boo, Christian Barone and Michael Teichl, among others, lead the Lions offensively.
The D-III tournament begins Monday in Landstuhl and ends Thursday at Ramstein High School.
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