Kadena’s boys tied Kubasaki in four of their five regular-season Okinawa Activities Council soccer matches last season.

A rule implemented this season mandating penalty-kick shootouts in case of a tie at the end of regulation time prevented yet another deadlock in Wednesday’s third go-round in the five-match OAC season series.

Joey Miller scored for Kadena in the sixth round of the shootout, boosting the Panthers over the Dragons 2-1 at Kubasaki’s Mike Petty Stadium, giving Kadena a 2-1 lead in the season series.

Each team’s coach said they much preferred shootouts over draws.

“Now, I can say I was on the winning side, that we did get the upper hand,” Kadena coach Tom McKinney said. “They [Kubasaki] could be on the winning side next time. But at least there’s no doubt this time.”

Mitch Shibley put the Dragons (1-7) ahead seven minutes into regulation time, but the Panthers (3-5) answered on Aaron Ahern’s free kick in the 59th. The shootout remained deadlocked until Kubasaki’s Cody Sadler clanged his sixth-round shot off the crossbar.

“Even being on the losing end, you learn things about our team, and I’d rather learn them now than wait until Far East” in May, Kubasaki coach Chris Kelly said. “I’d rather lose a shootout now than when it’s important.”

The girls’ third showdown, also at Petty Stadium, appeared to be headed the same route, knotted 1-1 until 12 minutes remained.

Jessica Osborne took a corner kick that glanced off Kadena forward Helen Schrock’s leg into the Panthers’ net for an own goal. The Dragons (6-2) prevailed 3-1, leading the season series 2-1 over Kadena (7-3-1).

“It can happen to anybody,” Schrock said afterward, likening the unfortunate goal as a “life lesson. We need to work harder in practice. [Next time] we’ll play harder. We’ll bring it. Kubasaki, be ready.”

The matches between the teams with 14 Far East titles between them, headlined a “Rivalry Wednesday” in which league leaders in Okinawa, Japan and Korea took to the pitch.

Seoul American’s girls battled Seoul Foreign to a 0-0 tie, the only blemish on the Falcons’ 10-0-1 mark thus far this season.

“We couldn’t run our offense the way we normally do because of the size of their field,” Falcons coach Lori Rogers said of a Seoul Foreign field 15 yards more narrow than Seoul American’s. “It wasn’t our day today.”

Seoul Foreign’s boys (8-0) got four goals from Pacific season- and career-leading scorer Remco Rademaker (31, 153), one a spectacular bicycle-kick to the left of the Falcons net.

After keeping the ball on the ground in the first half, the Falcons (7-2-1) “got away from that in the second half. We put too many balls in the air and they controlled the air because they’re taller,” Falcons coach Robert Victoria said.

Senior Jason Stroup netted a hat trick and DODDS-Japan-leading Yokota (5-1) erupted for four goals in the last 13 minutes of a 6-0 home shutout of Kinnick (3-2-2).

“He’s a reliable guy, always at practice and working hard,” coach Tim Pujol said of Stroup, who has eight goals. “He’s a leader.”

Yokota’s girls (9-1) played their first game without sophomore striker Courtney Richards (17 goals), out for the season with a broken left ankle. Julia Martel, Lauryn Thomas and Suzie Sundberg each scored as the Panthers won 3-1 at Zama American (5-2).

Coach Matt Whipple called it Yokota’s “best match of the season, by far.”

“The intensity level was up. The girls were playing positions they weren’t familiar with. There was more of a sense of urgency, more pressure on the strikers to produce. And they responded.”

Zama’s boys suffered their first loss in six matches, as Leo Kobayashi scored a hat trick and helped defending Class AA champion Christian Academy In Japan beat the Trojans 4-1 in the Knights’ season opener.

“The mighty have fallen,” Trojans coach Michael Pope said. The Knights, he said, beat the Trojans with “extremely physical play” and forced Zama into a game of run and shoot, instead of team possession. “We didn’t play our game,” Pope said.

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