YOKOTA AIR BASE, Japan – Aubrey Oh was a bundle of nerves and a bit homesick when leaving her beloved Vienna, Va., to return to her birthplace, Yokota, for her freshman school year.

But knowing that Yokota had a competitive soccer team that came within a step of a Far East Division II Tournament title the previous spring, Oh said she was happy to have the chance to play for the Panthers.

Thanks to what her coach, Matt Whipple, said is a left foot “blessed by the soccer gods,” Oh played one of the biggest roles in helping Yokota secure that final step to a title on May 1 at Misawa Air Base, Japan.

Oh’s free kick from 20 yards out with four minutes left in the D-II final boosted Yokota to a 1-0 victory over Matthew C. Perry and the team’s first Far East title in eight years.

“Grace under pressure,” Whipple said of the goal, which gave him and the Panthers their third Far East D-II championship in school history.

“It was almost life or death,” said Oh, whose match- and title-winning goal was her team-leading 37th of the season.

It was the only goal that Samurai keeper Raelin Reyes allowed all three days of the tournament. “She (Reyes) was tough to get a shot in against,” Oh said.

But it was enough to give Yokota what it had long sought since losing to E.J. King in the previous season’s D-II final.

For her efforts, Oh has been named Stars and Stripes’ Pacific girls soccer Athlete of the Year for the 2024 season.

“She’s a unique talent and an outstanding individual,” Whipple said.

Coming back to Japan, where she was born in 2009, left Oh longing for what she had left behind, even though she is only at Yokota for one school year and is headed back to Vienna in June.

“I missed Virginia,” Oh said on May 3, two days after helping Yokota secure the championship. “But it was fun playing here. I was a little nervous, but mostly excited about playing for the team.”

It was a team featuring plenty of returning talent from the 2023 season, including reigning D-II tournament Most Valuable Player Hailey Riddels, who complemented Oh’s abilities with 33 goals of her own.

“She is able to use her talent to elevate others around her, and she has a left foot blessed by the soccer gods,” Whipple said.

It would be understandable if Oh had second thoughts about wanting to return to Virginia, perhaps to remain and see if she could help the Panthers make it two straight titles. But Oh says she has her mind made up about the future.

“I feel definitely accomplished” regarding the Far East title, Oh said, “but I’m ready to move on.”

AUBREY OH

Age — 15

Birthplace — Yokota Air Base, Japan.

Place she considers home — Vienna, Va.

Favorite sport — Soccer.

Other sports — Volleyball, cheerleading.

Favorite subject — Geometry.

Least favorite subject — Language Arts.

Favorite athlete — Alex Morgan.

Favorite TV series — Friends.

Favorite performer — Taylor Swift.

Individual soccer statistics — 37 goals, 14 assists.

Yokota team record — 17 wins, 5 losses, 3 ties, DODEA-Pacific Far East Division II Tournament title.