Naples' Emma Heavey sends a free kick past a wall of Vicenza defenders on the way to teammate VaNae Filer's foot in the DODEA European Division II girls soccer championship game Thursday, May 23, 2024, at Ramstein Air Base in Germany. (Kent Harris/Stars and Stripes)
RAMSTEIN AIR BASE, Germany – If there was any doubt which school had the best Division II girls soccer team in DODEA-Europe this season, Thursday’s championship game erased it.
Asked if her team fit that description after a 4-1 victory over Vicenza, Naples coach Alyson Parenteau, also a math teacher, went for understatement.
“There’s data to support it,” she said, tongue firmly in cheek.
Vicenza coach Philip Paniagua, whose team played Naples closest during the season with a 3-2 loss, wasn’t in a mood to argue.
“They have so much talent,” he said. “It’s undeniable, the way they roll over people.”
Sophomore VaNae Filer capped a dominant season – and her DODEA sports career – with two goals as Naples stayed unbeaten and retained the title it won last year from Vicenza.
“Being here with the girls for the last time, I wanted to finish it off with a bang,” said Filer, who will be moving to California next week as her father retires from the Navy.
Her goals Thursday demonstrated her strengths in the sport. She was fouled 20 yards in front of the Vicenza goal, leading to a free kick from Emma Heavey. That kick soared to Filer, standing near the left corner of the net. She raised a foot and deflected the ball in.
“I just kind of lifted my foot up,” she said with a smile, downplaying her quick reactions.
VaNae Filer gets set to boot in her second goal Thursday, May 23, 2024, after out-sprinting three Vicenza defenders in the DODEA European Division II girls soccer tournament championship game at Ramstein Air Base in Germany. (Kent Harris/Stars and Stripes)
Naples freshman Hayden Medford quickly boots the ball in the net after cleaning up a Vicenza mistake right in front of the goal Thursday, May 23, 2024, at the DODEA European Division II girls soccer championship at Ramstein High School in Germany. (Kent Harris/Stars and Stripes)
Vicenza's Dariadna Lopez-Nieves tries to keep pace with Naples' Emerson Shorey during the DODEA European Division II girls soccer championshp game Thursday, May 23, 2024, at Ramstein High School in Germany. (Kent Harris/Stars and Stripes)
Naples went on to lead 3-0 by halftime. Vicenza’s Maya Fitch scored to trim the deficit early in the second half, but Filer had an answer. She got the ball surrounded by three Vicenza defenders about 40 yards from the goal. She made a tentative dribble, then sent the ball towards the goal and outsprinted everyone to get a hard-to-miss shot just in front of the goal that she converted.
“My coaches told me to use my speed as an advantage,” she said with a shrug.
Hayden Medford scored the Wildcats’ second goal of the day by capitalizing on a mistake by a Cougars defender right in front of the net and booting it into the goal before keeper Emeline Rodriguez could get in position. Emerson Shorey’s crossing shot then hit the crossbar, appeared to bounce inside the goal and then outside into a group consisting of Filer and Vicenza defenders. It deflected back into the goal.
Parenteau said though the team went unbeaten, it wasn’t an easy season, with multiple players nursing an array of injuries.
“Players have had to stand up, be versatile, trust the process,” Parenteau said. “And this is the result.”
Senior captain Amber Ozturkoglu, one of several Wildcats playing with various injuries, agreed.
“I think [the result] is about us as a team and how much we’ve worked to get this title,” she said.
Parenteau said the team obviously will miss Filer along with key departing seniors. And probably some others will transfer elsewhere.
“The nature of DODEA sports is you play each season the best you can,” she said. “Because these players will never play on the same team with each other again.”
