WIESBADEN, Germany – Enrique John described his Kaiserslautern team’s drubbing against SHAPE on April 11 as a “disaster.”

The coach told his players to forget that loss. Instead, he said the Raiders had an opportunity to bounce back against Wiesbaden on Saturday afternoon.

Kaiserslautern rose to the occasion, outlasting the short-handed Warriors for a 4-3 victory.

“We needed this game; we needed this win,” John said. “This time we showed character, and that’s important. I’m really proud of this team today.”

Perhaps the one who showed the most character was Josh Otto. The striker recorded all four Kaiserslautern goals, and the Warriors (2-2, 1-2) seemed to have no answer for him.

It began in the fourth minute when a Wiesbaden defender headed a Kaiserslautern free kick into the striker’s path wide open in front of net, and Otto delivered the first punch.

Then, Otto scored a hat-trick in the match’s final 17 minutes. He launched a rocket from the edge of the box that crossed over the line despite hitting Wiesbaden goalkeeper Cooper Piotrowski-Zesiger’s hands.

For his last two goals in the 71st and 76th minutes, Otto had to create space for himself while dribbling along the edge of the box. Once he got that one step, he let two curling shots fly, and they found their target.

“He has the talent – he just has to believe in himself,” John said of Otto. “Today, he saw with persistence, with willpower, everything can work.”

Otto’s final two goals provided crucial answers during the fireworks show that was the final 10 minutes of the match.

Trailing 2-1 in the 70th minute, Wiesbaden tied the game when substitute Finnian Syphus bombed forward from along the right wing and crossed the ball into the box. There, Preston Blake headed the ball past Kaiserslautern goalkeeper Finn Derby.

While Otto’s third goal gave the Raiders the lead once again a minute later, the Warriors produced yet another answer in the 74th minute. Gabriel Dawson sent a corner to the back post, where attacker Jaden Ruiz headed it home for his second of the match.

Another bit of Otto magic two minutes later proved to be the winner, although the Raiders didn’t breathe until the final whistle blew, Otto said.

“I was thinking from the moment we scored that second one, even after they scored that second game, we’re going to be able to win this,” he said.

“(I felt) amazing (after the fourth goal), but the final whistle was better, though, knowing that they couldn’t come back again.”

One week after picking up a key win against SHAPE, the Warriors found themselves without four major players on Saturday.

But coach Tariq Zangana didn’t offer any excuses.

“We just needed to come out with a better mentality today and play for our boys,” Zangana said. “I think it threw us off a bit.”

The Raiders, meanwhile, expressed hope this victory can be a turning point for this season.

“That was a big boost for morale today,” Otto said. “We set the standard here. Now we need to keep it.”

Girls

Ryann Phillips and her Kaiserslautern teammates recalled last spring’s DODEA Division I European championships third-place match against Wiesbaden heading into Saturday morning’s rematch.

While the Raiders came out on top nearly a year ago, Phillips said they understood not to take the Warriors lightly.

And over 80 minutes, it showed. The Raiders and Warriors played a tight, cagey match, with Kaiserslautern pulling away late in a 2-0 victory.

“I think it definitely made everyone nervous, but you could tell in the warmups, everyone was super locked in,” Phillips said. “We’re not normally like that, but everyone was ready to win.”

The Raiders (3-1-1, 3-1-1) needed some time to get going, but even when they did, the Warriors (1-3, 0-3) frustrated them. Kaiserslautern struggled to get into dangerous positions due to Wiesbaden’s defensive shape, eventually settling for long shots that Warrior goalkeeper Meghan McConville corralled.

One of those long shots eventually found the back of the net. In the 24th minute, Phillips lined up a 32-yard free kick in the middle of the field, lofted it over McConville and just under the bar to give the Raiders the lead.

Her coach, Maggie Phillips, said opposing teams already are aware of her captain’s free-kick prowess and generally do what they can to not to foul near the box.

“I already felt like it was going in, so I just went up and did it,” Ryann Phillips said. “It was all mental because I’ve taken a lot of free kicks from that same spot, so I was ready for it.”

That almost seemed like it might be the Raiders’ only goal until Claire Coss put the match to bed in the 66th minute. The freshman scored from the edge of the box like Phillips, but she did so in open play and not on a set piece.

“When you have a good backline like (Wiesbaden) did today and you can’t get those through balls, you have to rely on the long shot,” Maggie Phillips said. “We are capable of doing both, and that’s what makes us so strong this year.”

Like the boys squad, the Wiesbaden girls were missing three players, all of whom play in attack. The Warriors struggled to create many goal-scoring opportunities. The best came the 49th minute off a corner, when the ball bounced around the edge of the 6-yard box. Wiesbaden was unable to get a shot on target, though, as Kaiserslautern bodies blocked the path to goal.

Coach Tab Wildermuth said her team missed the offensive players, but she praised the efforts of defenders Emily Arocan, Jocelyn Browne, Hannah Buchheit and Bailey Foulk for making it difficult for the Raiders.

She also pointed out McConville, who converted to goalkeeper this season and had 12 saves on Saturday.

“We have a lot of returners from last year, so that chemistry is there,” Wildermuth said of the backline. “I can’t help but be proud of my defense and my keeper. They were the playmakers of this game.”

K-town Sports

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