European boys' soccer championships
go to Heidelberg, Black Forest, Rome
By Gregory Piatt,
Stars and Stripes
Gregory Piatt / Stars and Stripes
Benoit Rousseau shouts after scoring a goal against Black Forest Academy during the
first half of the DODDS Division II Boys Soccer championships Saturday at AFNORTH High
School in Brunssum, the Netherlands. Black Forest beat SHAPE 5-4 in a shootout |
BRUNSSUM, the Netherlands — Throughout the DODDS boys soccer tournament,
Heidelberg coach Paul Labella kept telling his players, "Humble confidence."
It was that confidence and two goals by Morgan Zedalis that led Heidelberg to a 2-0
victory on Saturday over Lakenheath in the boys soccer Division I final.
Heidelberg’s victory ended a busy day of championship soccer on which Black Forest
Academy beat SHAPE 5-4 in a shootout for the Division II championship and American
Overseas School of Rome hold off Rota for a 1-0 victory in the Division III game.
All three championships were held at Brussnum.
Heidelberg only needed Zedalis’ goal because Lakenheath couldn’t do much
around the Lions’ net.
"Man for man, I knew we were better," Labella said. "And we knew we had
the firepower, but we knew we couldn’t let them get by us."
Labella thought the firepower would come from senior Tom Smith, who was selected the
tournament’s most valuable player. But Zedalis stepped up and scored at the 32-minute
mark, giving the Lions a 1-0 lead at the half.
"I was at the right place at the right time," Zedalis said. "I saw the
ball spinning, I hit it and knocked it in."
At the 27-minute mark of the second half, Zedalis struck again.
"The second goal I had to work for it," Zedalis said. "Once I got it, I
knew we had the game in hand."
Labella agreed with Zedalis, a senior striker.
"Once we got it, we could breathe easier," Labella said. "In these types
of tournaments one goal isn’t enough."
Lakenheath coach J.B. Morrow said the Lancers tried to frustrate Heidelberg’s
passing game, but had a hard time doing it.
"They got two goals and they were not well worked," Morrow said. "We had
bad defending."
Division II
Junior Pierre Dehaene beat SHAPE goaltender Jon Cox in a shootout to give Black Forest
Academy the victory in Division II.
Black Forest kept up its attack through the whole game, even though SHAPE scored first
when Benoit Rousseau kicked a sliding goal in on the left side of the net.
"All season, I told the kids never to back down," said Marcus Kephart, Black
Forest’s coach. "I’m proud of the effort the kids put forth."
Senior midfielder Jason Sudeck scored Black Forest’s only goal in regulation.
Goalkeeper Sam Gunter was able to withstand SHAPE’s pressure, and Black Forest won
the shootout 4-3.
"He’s a first-year keeper," Kephart said. "He was thinking of
quitting the team at the beginning of the year because he thought he wasn’t good
enough. But as it turns out, he’s been our starting keeper all year."
"We played to win it in the game and not in a shootout," coach Tony Blasio
said of SHAPE’s strategy. "We you have a shootout it is a toss-up and it is
anybody’s game."
Black Forest gave SHAPE trouble, with its defenders clearing the ball with long kicks
and the offense’s one-touch passing, Blasio said.
"Our strike was getting through but our players didn’t have the juice to put
it in," he added. "It was a well-played game but the coin fell the wrong
way."
Division III
The lone score in the Division III final came after the ball was bouncing like a
pinball off players in front of Rota’s net. Rome’s Ali Marmaduke took a pass
from Moses Chikuse and put it into the net for the victory.
"The game was the result of a skirmish in front of the goal," said Don
Kinghorn, Rota’s coach. "There were so many people in the box that the ball
could not get out."
Senior right forward Danny Batista played a strong game for Rota and came back to play
in the second half with a bloody nose, Kinghorn said.
"They never quit," Kinghorn said of Rome’s play. "We would answer
their attack with the long ball down the sides, but they can be just devastating. They are
a consummate team. They are technically strong. They just never rolled over. "
But while Rome never rolled over, Rota sophomore defender Gretchen Storm gave Rome
fits. Storm, who made the Division III All-Tournament Team, has been checked out by the
U.S. Olympic Development team, Kinghorn said.
In the third-place games on Saturday morning at AFNORTH, Ramstein beat Wiesbaden in
Division I, 3-1; AFNORTH topped the International School of Brussels in a shootout,
winning 7-6 in the Division II game; and London Central took a 3-0 halftime lead and hung
on to beat Ankara 3-2 in Division III.
DODDS-Europe all-tournament teams
Division I
MVP — Tom Smith, Heidelberg
Morgan Zedalis, Heidelberg; Mario Diaz, Heidelberg; Paul Quintall,
Heidelberg; Edgar Pake, Heidelberg; Anthony Morrow, Lakenheath; Alec Drozdowski,
Lakenheath; Luke Croucher, Lakenheath; Jason Hasbrouck, Ramstein; Sean de Haas, Ramstein;
Oliver Robinson, Wiesbaden; Jeremy Dent, Wiesbaden.
Division II
MVP — John Chance, Black Forest Academy
Jason Sudeck, BFA; Pierre Dehaene, BFA; Andrew Hochstedler, BFA; Jon
Cox, SHAPE; Antonio Maccarelli, SHAPE; Geoffrey Johnson, SHAPE; David Dorrington, SHAPE;
Josh Price, AFNORTH; Christoph Meissner, AFNORTH; Oliver Steil, AFNORTH; Hugo Jacob,
International School Brussels.
Division III
MVP — Simone Capello, American Overseas School of
Rome
Brian Farrel, American Overseas School of Rome; Moses Chikuse, American
Overseas School of Rome; Salvatore Romano, American Overseas School of Rome; Billy Adamo,
Rota; Gretchen Storm, Rota; Danny Batista, Rota; Richard Johnson, Rota; Mark McKeithan,
London Central; Matt Krimer, London Central; Mehmet Daj, London Central; Cristobal
Morales, Ankara; Sami Hyotylainen, Ankara.
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