The Brussels Brigands celebrate their Division III title after defeating Florence 1-0 at the DODDS-Europe soccer championships in Kaiserslautern, Germany, Thursday, May 22, 2014. (Michael Abrams/Stars and Stripes)
The Brussels Brigands celebrate their Division III title after defeating Florence 1-0 at the DODDS-Europe soccer championships in Kaiserslautern, Germany, Thursday, May 22, 2014. (Michael Abrams/Stars and Stripes)
Chased by Florence's Malaika Handa, left, Alexandra DeFazio of Brussels heads up the field on her way to scoring the winning goal in the Division III title game at the DODDS-Europe soccer championships in Kaiserslautern, Germany, Thursday, May 22, 2014. Brussels won 1-0. (Michael Abrams/Stars and Stripes)
Florence's Emma Nataloni and Gabrielle Friedhoff of Brussels battle for the ball at the DODDS-Europe soccer championships in Kaiserslautern, Germany, Thursday, May 22, 2014. Brussels won 1-0. (Michael Abrams/Stars and Stripes)
Morgan Maloney of Brussels sends a pass to a teammate at the DODDS-Europe soccer championships in Kaiserslautern, Germany, Thursday, May 22, 2014. Brussels won 1-0 to capture the title. (Michael Abrams/Stars and Stripes)
KAISERSLAUTERN, Germany — It took nearly the entire 80 minutes, but the girls of Brussels plunked in a last-minute goal to take the Division III DODDS-Europe soccer championship, downing the International School of Florence 1-0.
The result was far different from the pool game the teams had played just a day earlier, when Brussels fed the top-seeded Wild Boars a 7-1 helping of humble pie.
Despite dominating their earlier meeting, Brussels’ offense appeared dazed early in the first half after failing to capitalize on a handful of opening drives.
As they say on Wall Street, past performance is not an indication of future results.
“It’s funny – the hardest part is getting the ball to the goal, which is what we worked on for the whole season,” Brussels senior Ali DeFazio said. “And so, of course, we did really well at that.”
Both sides put up lackluster first half performances that appeared more like a 40-minute scrum than an organized soccer game. In the melee, both sides managed to get off a few shots that came close, but never close enough.
The second half opened with Brussels newly reorganized behind all-tournament MVP DeFazio, who also took home a $2,500 scholarship granted in memory of Ramstein alum and soccer star Josie Seebeck, who died after a car accident last year.
Sharp passing brought the Brigands to within striking distance at least a dozen times, but each time, they failed to find the back of the net.
“I guess it’s finishing we didn’t spend enough time on,” DeFazio quipped after the game.
“I think, honestly,” she said, “it just came down to we were unlucky. They were all good shots and good placements; she’s just a good keeper.”
By she, DeFazio meant sophomore keeper Marlies Mons, who singlehandedly squashed most of Brussels fast breaks and long-distance strikes.
“I kept looking at the clock ticking, and I was like, ‘Aw, please, can it just be over? Can we please just score?’” Mons said. “And it’s difficult, because as a goalie you can’t just run out and do things.”
What she did was prevent another blowout.
Despite underwhelming through most of the game, top-seed Florence pounded two shots in the last 10 minutes that nearly found their mark.
But those late efforts were outdone by a final breakout from DeFazio, who lazed a shot into the right side just past Mons as time ran out.
“That was a little too close for me,” DeFazio said. “But it made it I guess more climactic. The fans liked it.”
