Heidelberg's Matthew Orlowski tries to get off a shot as Lakenheath's Marshall Mattingley, Matt Trombly and Tom Zajac, from left, defend. Lakenheath beat the eight-time Division I defending champions 1-0 in overtime to advance to Friday's finals. (Michael Abrams / S&S)
Heidelberg's Matthew Orlowski tries to get off a shot as Lakenheath's Marshall Mattingley, Matt Trombly and Tom Zajac, from left, defend. Lakenheath beat the eight-time Division I defending champions 1-0 in overtime to advance to Friday's finals. (Michael Abrams / S&S)
Ramstein's Susie Fluker, left, and Kaiserslautern's Abby Haplin fight for a ball in a Division I semifinal at Ramstein on Thursday. Ramstein beat cross-town rival Kaiserslautern 1-0 to advance to Friday's Division I final. (Michael Abrams / S&S)
Ramstein midfielder Melissa Hirzel, left, celebrates her winning goal with teammate Catherine Brennan. (Michael Abrams / S&S)
(List of scores at end of story)
RAMSTEIN AIR BASE, Germany — A tenacious Lakenheath defense and a late goal by Chris Perez made sure that eight consecutive European Division I high school soccer titles was enough for the Heidelberg Lions.
Perez scored less late in the second overtime period of Thursday’s European tournament semifinal to produce a 1-0 victory over the Lions and a berth in Friday’s championship game.
“I was stunned,” Perez said of his game-winner, which came off a Lakenheath free kick from 30 yards that sailed into the Heidelberg penalty area.
“My friend Ben Green chested it down,” Perez said, “and it landed at my feet.”
Both Lancers had slid past Heidelberg’s back line, forcing Lions keeper Joe Wilhelm to run toward Green in an attempt to cut down the shooter’s angle. Perez collected the ball and calmly rolled it inside the left post.
The goal, the first for either team in 178 minutes against each other this season, averted a penalty-kick shootout everyone was expecting after the teams had battled skillfully through 80 minutes of regulation and the first 10-minute overtime period.
The possibility of a shootout “crossed my mind,” said Perez, whose Lancers handed Heidelberg its only previous blemish this season, a 0-0 tie. “I didn’t want it to go to a shootout.”
One reason it didn’t came five minutes earlier in the second OT, when defender Marshall Mattingly deflected what looked like a sure Heidelberg goal over the bar to preserve the scoreless tie.
With seven minutes left in the second overtime, a Heidelberg foray into the box forced Lakenheath keeper Tyler Keith to go forward to deflect a point-blank shot. The rebound darted to the top of the box, where Heidelberg’s Xavier Otero one-touched a floater toward the open net.
That left it up to Mattingly.
“I saw [Keith] running out,” Mattingly said, “and I went back on the line. I saw the shot and all I could think was ‘head the ball over the bar.’ I was afraid I might head it in, but I had no choice. I had to head it over the bar.”
When the final whistle blew, several Heidelberg players, reduced to tears by effort and disappointment, lay on the field. Instead of celebrating with his teammates, Perez moved from one prone Lion to the next, congratulating and consoling them.
“They played amazing,” said Perez, a senior who left the game briefly with a cramp in the second period. “It was a pleasure to play against them.”
Heidelberg’s successor as Division I champion will be the winner of Friday’s 6:30 p.m. game between the Lancers and the winner of Thursday’s late semifinal between Ramstein and Wiesbaden.
In other games of note Thursday, Ramstein’s top-seeded girls got a late goal from All-European Melissa Hirzel with 18 minutes left in regulation to pull out a 1-0 semifinal victory over second-seeded Kaiserslautern.
Hirzel’s volley over the head of Kaiserslautern keeper Bianca Gerena-Perez came from the left side of the box off a perfect cross from Mari Shakir, who dribbled the ball down the right sideline.
“Melissa hit the shot perfectly,” Ramstein coach Ricardo Buitrago said. “She took her time and put the ball right where it had to be.”
Ramstein will take on the winner of Thursday’s late semifinal between Heidelberg and Wiesbaden in Friday’s title game, scheduled for 4:30 p.m.
In Division III, the top-seeded Ansbach girls opened with a 4-1 victory over Marymount International of Rome, and the London Central boys avenged their only loss of the season with a 3-0 victory over Giessen.
In Division II girls play, top-seeded Patch was held to a 0-0 tie by Bitburg, and Italy champion Aviano won its second straight after an opening loss to SHAPE. The Lady Saints defeated Hanau 3-1 on Wednesday evening and blanked injury-riddled AFNORTH 1-0 on Thursday.
In the boys’ Division II event, the AFNORTH and Black Forest Academy juggernauts continued to roll. AFNORTH, which has averaged 4.67 goals per outing, won its third straight, 5-0 over Naples. BFA, the defending European Division II champion, also improved to 3-0 with a 2-0 victory over Italy champion Aviano.
European championships
RAMSTEIN AIR BASE, Germany — Wednesday’s late scores and Thursday’s early results in the boys and girls pool-play portion of the 2005 DODDS-Europe Divisions I, II, III and IV soccer tournaments, which end Friday and Saturday:
Wednesday’s late results
Boys
Division I
Heidelberg 1, Wiesbaden 0
Division II
AFNORTH 4, Bitburg 1
Aviano 1, SHAPE 1
Vilseck 1, Naples 0
BFA 4, Mannheim 1
Division III
No games scheduled
Division IV
Milan 1, Ankara 0
Iceland 7, Livorno 0
Ankara 6, Menwith Hill 0
Alconbury 7, Livorno 0
Milan 6, Menwith Hill 0
Brussels 7, Incirlik 0
Girls
Division II
Aviano 3, Hanau 1
Bitburg 0, Vilseck 0
Patch 3, Mannheim 1
Black Forest Academy 1, AFNORTH 0
Naples 2, Bitburg 0
Division III
No games scheduled
Division IV
Milan 3, Lajes 0
Menwith Hill 1, Ankara 0
Alconbury 6, Iceland 1
Brussels 2, Ankara 0
Alconbury 2, Milan 0
Brussels 3, Menwith Hill 0
Lajes 1, Iceland 0
Thursday’s early results
Boys
Division I pool-play
Lakenheath 6, Kaiserslautern 0
Ramstein 7, Würzburg 0
Thursday’s semifinals
Lakenheath 1, Heidelberg 0 (OT)
Ramstein vs. Wiesbaden, late
Division II pool play
Aviano 2, Mannheim 2
AFNORTH 5, Naples 0
Patch 2, SHAPE 1
Vilseck 2, Hanau 0
Black Forest Academy vs. Aviano
Naples vs. Bitburg
Mannheim vs. Patch
AFNORTH vs. Vilseck
Hanau vs. Bitburg
BFA vs. SHAPE
Division III pool play
Bamberg 3, Sigonella 0
Rota 1, Marymount 0
London Central 3, Giessen 0
Giessen vs. Vicenza
Sigonella vs. Baumholder
Rota vs. Ansbach
London Central vs. Vicenza
Bamberg vs. Baumholder
Marymount vs. Ansbach
Division IV quarterfinals
Milan 7, Incirlik 0
Iceland 2, Lajes 1
Brussels 4, Menwith Hill 0
Ankara 1, Alconbury 0
Division IV semifinals
Milan vs. Iceland, late
Brussels vs. Ankara, late
Girls
Division I pool play
Kaiserslautern 1, Würzburg 0
Heidelberg 2, Lakenheath 1
Division I semifinals
Ramstein 1, Kaiserslautern 0
Heidelberg vs. Wiesbaden, late
Division II pool play
Hanau 2, AFNORTH 0
Patch 0, Bitburg 0
Black Forest Academy 4, SHAPE 0
Vilseck 2, Naples 0
Aviano vs. AFNORTH
Bitburg vs. Mannheim
SHAPE vs. Hanau
Patch vs. Naples
Vilseck vs. Mannheim
Aviano vs. BFA
Division III pool play
Ansbach 4, Marymount 1
Hohenfels 2, Vicenza 0
Sigonella 2, American Overseas School of Rome 0
Bamberg vs. Baumholder
Vicenza vs. Marymount
Ansbach vs. Hohenfels
Sigonella vs. Baumholder
Bamberg vs. AOSR
Division IV pool play
Milan 3, Iceland 0
Alconbury 4, Lajes 0
Division IV semifinals
Brussels vs. Milan
