For Bria Pressley and the Osan American Cougars girls soccer team, the third time was the charm.

The Cougars had been shut out in their two regular-season games against Taejon Christian International. The Cougars reversed the outcome in Friday’s Korean-American Interscholastic Activities Conference Division I Tournament, edging the Dragons 2-1 at Seoul International School.

"We decided that we couldn’t let them beat us three times in a row," coach Sung Plourde said. "We did it when we had to."

Pressley scored in the fifth minute, her 21st goal of the season. Then halfway through the second half, Courtney Ouellette sent a corner kick to Angela Frisby, whose seventh goal of the campaign proved to be the winner. Nina Aaltonen scored for the Dragons to keep it close.

"If there’s any team we’d want to lose to, Osan’s the team," TCIS assistant coach Dan Adams said.

The victory put the Cougars in Saturday’s championship game against regular-season champion Seoul Foreign, as Osan aimed for its first KAIAC tournament title in 10 years.

"One more game tomorrow," Plourde said. "We’ll see."

Osan’s boys got knocked out in the semifinal round, falling 3-0 to Seoul Foreign, but not before getting a long-awaited victory over Seoul American. Billy Bortscheller scored the match’s lone goal as Osan beat the Falcons for the first time in six years.

Freshman goalkeeper Richard Mejia played the biggest role, saving 12 shots, coach Duke Allen said. Mejia beat out returning keeper David Chorley during spring practice for the starting job.

"We did it at the right time. This was a great game, a wonderful game," Allen said. "It will give us confidence" going into the Far East Class A tournament next month at Marine Corps Air Station Iwakuni, Japan.

Seoul Foreign’s boys were to face Yongsan International-Seoul in Saturday’s title match.

Daegu American’s girls are hoping a trend continues. They got knocked out of the KAIAC tournament title race in the first round for the third straight year, losing 2-0 to Seoul American, "but that usually means good things at Far East," coach Ed Thompson said.

Next month, the Warriors host the Girls Class A tournament. They won the 2007 title and finished second in 2008 at Iwakuni.

Kadena softball team avenges loss, rallies past KubasakiCoach Jesse Costa called it a bit of "unfinished business" after her Kadena Panthers last weekend captured the DODDS-Japan girls softball tournament title.

They wanted to avenge a 10-7 loss April 15 to the only DODDS team that’s beaten them this season, Okinawa rival Kubasaki.

On Friday, they got their chance. Mary Schweers got the victory with two innings of relief and drove in two runs. The Panthers scored eight unanswered runs to rally from a 9-3 deficit for an 11-9 victory at Chibana.

"They’re a bunch of scrappers," Costa said after Kadena’s third victory in four games over the Dragons. "They know when they need to wrap their heads around the ball and get it done. It ain’t over until it’s over. I’m very proud of them."

Costa hopes the victory will give six-time defending champion Kadena momentum headed into this week’s Okinawa Activities Council best-of-three championship series.

"It won’t be complete until the island championship," Costa said, calling Kubasaki "worthy adversaries. It will be a good match."

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