Senior Giovanna Kennedy, right, returns at midfield for Kinnick. (Dave Ornauer/Stars and Stripes)
YOKOTA AIR BASE, Japan – Tired, weary but feeling accomplished, Nile C. Kinnick’s and Matthew C. Perry’s girls soccer teams on Saturday established themselves as early favorites in their respective DODEA-Pacific divisions.
The Red Devils and Samurai took the top two spots in this weekend’s Panther Shootout at Yokota, Kinnick coming off a fourth-place finish at last April’s Far East Division I tournament on Guam and Perry just missing in the 2024 Far East Division II final at Misawa.
“They’re playing well together as a unit,” said Nico Hindie of Kinnick, the dean of Pacific girls soccer coaches in his 21st season.
His team is junior-heavy, missing its leading playmaker of the last three years, the graduated Bree Withers, but seemingly left with more than enough to challenge for its first D-I tournament title since 2019.
Junior striker Alyssa Staples returns, along the fellow juniors Scarlet Seiders, Victoria Justice, Rachael Vite and Valentina Sacca.
Assuming the center-midfield role is senior Giovanna Kennedy, who’s not as quick as Withers – few are – but is a strong playmaker who finds the open shooter and is quick on the scoring draw herself, having scored five times in the Panther Shootout.
Staples was last year’s D-I best defender and Kennedy made Far East All-Tournament a season ago.
“We’ve had to (convert) some players into new positions and they’re really stepping up,” Hindie said.
One key addition is Julia Blackwell, another junior who comes over from track and field to assume a defensive role.
“We have a huge junior class that’s been in the program since their freshmen years; some are now stepping into key roles,” Hindie said.
Ella Cala, left, is one of several Kinnick juniors; Priscilla Ramirez shows plenty of promise as a Perry freshman. (Dave Ornauer/Stars and Stripes)
Valentina Sacca, left, is one of several Kinnick juniors; senior Sasha Malone is Perry's field general. (Dave Ornauer/Stars and Stripes)
Senior McKenzie Steele is a steady midfield presence for Perry. (Dave Ornauer/Stars and Stripes)
One team that should make serious noise in D-II is Perry, Hindie said. The Samurai lost to Kinnick 4-0, giving up all four goals in the second half of their Panther Shootout match, but Perry kept the Red Devils off the scoreboard in the first half.
“They’re going to be a force to be reckoned with,” Hindie said of the Samurai following Saturday’s match.
Perry is fueled by senior midfielder Sasha Malone, sophomore striker Leilani Zuniga and freshman Priscilla Ramirez, whom Perry coach Daniel Burns likens to former Perry star Bobbi Hill, who holds the DODEA-Japan career record with 155 goals.
“They (Samurai) have Sasha, who takes control of the entire team on the field, and their young scorers are strong,” Hindie said.
The teams that won the D-II tournaments the last two years, defending champion Yokota and 2023 winner E.J. King, saw a ton of goals graduate or transfer after last season.
Matthew Whipple, in his 19th season at the Panthers’ helm, welcomes back a group of veteran seniors led by midfielder-striker Jessica Franks. But they have to make do without freshman star Aubrey Oh, who had 37 goals before transferring; Hailey Riddels and her 33 goals graduated.
The Cobras lost Maliwan Schinker and her 60 goals to graduation, while senior Miu Best moved to softball with her sister Moa. Second-year coach Jesse Dare says he’s hopeful that his returners, including senior keeper Alex Bottorff, can leap back into contention soon.
Robert D. Edgren faces a rebuilding job, but coach Hoa Nguyen built some champion teams at Kadena in the mid-2000s. Reise Redmond scored the team’s lone two goals at Yokota.
Zama freshman Jessie Hunter emerged as a scoring threat at Yokota this weekend; she scored eight goals in five matches. The Trojans also return seniors Juliet Bitor, Isabella Rivera Munoz and keeper Keisha Steele-Loli.
Perry freshman Noah Charles played club ball in the Yokosuka area before transferring to Iwakuni. (Kevin Rossiter/Special to Stripes)
Senior Damian Perez returns as the Cobras' top scoring option. (Ren Foslin/Special to Stripes)
Perry’s boys soccer team returns its entire defense, including All-Far East junior Ren Spinosi; he also sees some time at midfield and striker. (Kevin Rossiter/Special to Stripes)
Boys soccer
In its weekend opener, host Matthew C. Perry reached the finals of the 13th Perry Cup for the second straight year, coming up one goal short but leaving seeing itself as a contender for its seventh D-II title.
“I think we have a very good side,” said Mark Lange, in his 21st season as Samurai coach. They return their entire defense, led by junior Ren Spinosi, along with sophomore striker Preston Ramirez. Noah Charles, a freshman, played club ball at Yokosuka before moving to Iwakuni.
They’re also chancing it with a junior keeper Kelton Clark, who has never played soccer before, but rewarded Lange’s faith by allowing just two goals in five matches in the Perry Cup.
“We’re very strong defensively,” Lange said, adding that the play of his charges’ defense helped keep the pressure off Clark. “The level has gone up for sure.”
Kinnick also anticipates charging back into the title chase after winning Far East D-I two seasons ago and finishing second last year. Junior Koboyo Awesso (19 goals) and senior Nick Moore (30) pace the Red Devils’ attack.
“I want to be confident that we put the best version of the team on the field every chance we get,” seventh-year coach Tim Rippeth said. “A lot of seniors graduated, but this group is the next generation. It’s their turn.”
King brings back its All-Far East senior striker Damian Perez and midfielder Amin Alipourkashki. Sixth-year coach Ricky Andrew says he’s emphasizing ramping up the overall team speed in trying to overcome opponents.
Yokota, second in the D-II tournament last year, is facing a rebuilding task. Kurt Everest takes over as coach and juniors Alberto Nakamoto, Luke Harbert and Evan Horne return.
Zama, at the very least, is strong in the back end, with goalkeepers Joseph Stroud and Aiden Gilmore returning. Edgren returns a strong core including senior Santi Castano, All-Far East junior Ethan Young and the sophomore Lehner twins, Aidan and Luke.
Junior Teora Miyashiro is one of two starting pitchers for Kinnick's softball team. (Lauren Casey/Special to Stripes)
The Red Devils have high hopes for freshman righty Lily Lucas. (Erick Chedd Ricardo/Special to Stripes)
Senior Zaylee Gubler is one of two returning starting pitchers for two-time defending Far East D-II champion Yokota. (Dave Ornauer/Stars and Stripes)
Softball
Should one ask any of the Panthers if Yokota’s softball team can make it three straight D-II tournament titles, the answer would most likely be in the affirmative.
Senior right-handers Zaylee Gubler and Erica Haas are back as a solid 1-2 pitching punch along with senior catcher Kayla Bogdan.
The Panthers also say they’re not feeling added pressure to live up to their last two seasons.
“We’re just going to go out and play,” senior Siera Light said. “I’m very confident about our team, especially with Zaylee, Kayla and Erica leading the way.”
After playing soccer for three seasons, Miu Best joins the Cobras’ D-II runner-up softball team. She’ll play infield, while her sister Moa is one of two leads option on the mound.
King is a senior-laden outfit, featuring infielders Sarah Goleman and Pia Lagrito and outfielder Laura Dougherty. Mila Nishimura-Reed is another pitching option.
“These girls are working really hard,” the Best’s father and coach McKinzy Best said. “As the season grows, we’ll grow.”
On the opposite end of the pitching spectrum, Edgren lost its senior starters named Alyssa, Marrero and Singletary, and also has a new coach in Robert McDonald. Still, seven players return and sophomore shortstop Cinfani Davis transferred in from Texas, where she played club ball.
Seniors Emma Sakamoto-Flack and Camryn Williams lend some senior leadership to a Zama team that welcomes back for the first time since 2012 Veronica Jones as the head coach.
“Surprisingly satisfying and just as dusty as I remembered,” Jones said after Zama swept Edgren in the weekend openers.
Another team facing a rebuild is Perry, D-II runner-up two seasons ago. The Samurai are freshman heavy with infielders Alexandria Altig, Miah Apperson and outfielder Elizabeth Shoop joining senior Leah Hamner.
Kinnick could move upward with its new pitching options, junior Teora Miyashiro and freshman Lily Lucas, who transferred from the States and has shown “good base skills,” coach Taylor Kigerl-Hill said. The team is freshman heavy “but they’re not new to softball,” she said.
Arashi Blocton is Kinnick's lone senior and lead pitching option. (Lauren Casey/Special to Stripes)
Baseball
Another team hoping to score a Far East D-II title trifecta is Zama, but the Trojans face something of a building task. Lawrence Ungar and Joshua Dawes take over as coaches but a handful of players return from the two title seasons.
Senior Ayden Moore, junior Toro McClendon, sophomore Aiden Hinkle and freshmen Hugo Sherratt and Brody Kuchera can all pitch.
“We’re figuring out their capabilities,” Ungar said. “We do have strong candidates … I think we have a chance to contend for a third straight title. I see some promise.”
The Trojans may get a strong challenge from both Perry and King, who over the weekend at Sasebo showcased a treasure trove of pitching arms.
Aira Fujinuma, one of several Samurai returners, fired a no-hitter in his first start of the season. Ten players return for the Samurai, and four of them are capable pitchers, coach A.J. Edwards said.
“We aren’t the same team as last year and we can’t wait to prove it,” Edwards said.
The Cobras, with sophomore Jayden Arocho leading the way, also show promise on the mound with David Armstrong and Easton Bybee. Replacing graduated all-around star Chris Schrader will be a chore, though.
John Liss, who has been an assistant coach before, takes over as Yokota’s head coach and brings back a small but experienced core in senior Casey Bumpers and juniors Brailyn Ivey and Takumi Iwazaki-Chung.
Senior right-hander Arashi Blocton will lead the way for the Red Devils under eighth-year coach Chad Stark. Kinnick lost seven seniors and is in rebuild mode, but has a couple more pitching prospects in Dale McNamara, who transferred from Guam, and freshman Kayden Tam.
