American Overseas School of Rome winger Valerio Di Cesare heads a free kick ahead of Naples goalkeeper Joey Randazzo during the Division II title match at the DODEA European soccer championships on May 23, 2024, at Ramstein High School on Ramstein Air Base, Germany. (Matt Wagner/Stars and Stripes)

RAMSTEIN AIR BASE, Germany – Jackson Shorey could have claimed he meant to shoot on the title-winning goal against American Overseas School of Rome on Thursday afternoon, and nobody would have been the wiser.

Yet after Naples’ 2-1 victory over the Falcons at Ramstein High School in the DODEA Division II European championship match, honesty flowed from him: He was just fortunate.

In extra time and the score tied, the junior attacker surveyed the field in front of him from the right wing ahead of a free kick and saw an opening – not for himself but for Wildcat defensive midfielder Alex Hermanson.

Yet when Shorey launched the free kick low in the 86th minute, the ball didn’t hit anyone or anything before going over the goal line.

“I wasn’t trying to shoot,” Shorey said. “I was trying to get it to (Hermanson), but he let it go and it found it’s way in the goal, which is pretty lucky.”

His coach, Chris Kasparek, doesn’t describe it as luck. Instead, goals like that are the norm for Shorey, who was named the tournament’s most outstanding player.

In fact, it wasn’t the first time this tournament he scored an opportune goal, tying Wednesday’s semifinal with Bahrain directly off a corner kick.

“There isn’t a shot that Jackson doesn’t think he can’t make,” Kasparek said. “If he’s shooting from a hundred yards back, he thinks he can make it.”

Shorey’s goal handed the Wildcats (11-0-2) the rubber match of championship finals. AOSR (10-1-2) and Naples have contested the three title matches since the DODEA tournament’s return from the COVID-19 pandemic.

The Wildcats took the first contest in 2022, while the Falcons got revenge in 2023.

Shorey mentioned last spring’s loss as a major motivation throughout the season, whether for the veterans or the squad rookies.

“Last year losing hurt us a lot,” Shorey said. “We wanted to come back here with a new team and prove ourselves to everybody that we’re still good enough to beat the top teams.”

Naples junior Jackson Shorey shoots as American Overseas School of Rome's Edward Ferretti trails during the Division II title match at the DODEA European soccer championships on May 23, 2024, at Ramstein High School on Ramstein Air Base, Germany. (Matt Wagner/Stars and Stripes)

Naples freshman Finn Stephens gets fouled by American Overseas School of Rome defender MengPeng Jiang during the Division II title match at the DODEA European soccer championships on May 23, 2024, at Ramstein High School on Ramstein Air Base, Germany. (Matt Wagner/Stars and Stripes)

Naples attacker Joaquin Villescas tries to go around American Overseas School of Rome goalkeeper Carson Cicchi during the Division II title match at the DODEA European soccer championships on May 23, 2024, at Ramstein High School on Ramstein Air Base, Germany. (Matt Wagner/Stars and Stripes)

Naples shocked AOSR almost from the opening whistle. In the second minute, Shorey hit a free kick that deflected to midfielder Alessandro Vavra in the box. The junior spun like a top and slotted the ball into the back of the net.

AOSR bounced back and found the equalizer in the 33rd minute. Senior captain Jacopo Giuffrida hit in a free kick from the left wing, and senior Valerio Di Cesare headed the ball into the net.

After that, the match became more physical. Four-and-a-half times as many fouls (32) were whistled than shots were on target (seven) during regulation, and four players picked up yellow cards.

The Falcons enjoyed the lion’s share of possession in regulation and looked the more likely to create a chance to score. But when extra time came, the Wildcats woke up, leading to Shorey’s heroics.

Naples co-captain Joaquin Villescas pointed to Wednesday’s comeback victory over Bahrain in extra time as giving the Wildcats the belief they could take care of business against AOSR.

“Going into overtime is scary, right? Ten minutes, they score a goal on you, they can just park the bus,” the senior attacker said. “Going into overtime yesterday and winning gave us confidence going into overtime this game because we knew we could pull it off, we’ve done it before.”

Thursday’s loss ended AOSR’s two-year unbeaten run and denied the Falcons the repeat they craved.

Coach Giacomo Castelli didn’t lament the loss too much. Instead, he credited Naples’ defensive shape for stymying the Falcons’ chances on offense and rued the unfortunate breaks that went against them on the goals.

“We were just unlucky, I think,” Castelli said. “We got two goals on two, say, stupid situations. That happens. That’s football. We accept it, and we look forward for next year.”