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SHAPE's Kristian Lozar takes a shot on goal against Alconbury during a game on Saturday, April 26, 2014. SHAPE won the game 6-0. The 2014 DODDS-Europe championships get under way with Division II in the Kaiserslautern area Monday, with the other divisions following Tuesday. Championship matches are set for Thursday at the Kaiserslautern High School stadium.

SHAPE's Kristian Lozar takes a shot on goal against Alconbury during a game on Saturday, April 26, 2014. SHAPE won the game 6-0. The 2014 DODDS-Europe championships get under way with Division II in the Kaiserslautern area Monday, with the other divisions following Tuesday. Championship matches are set for Thursday at the Kaiserslautern High School stadium. (Adam L. Mathis/Stars and Stripes)

SHAPE's Kristian Lozar takes a shot on goal against Alconbury during a game on Saturday, April 26, 2014. SHAPE won the game 6-0. The 2014 DODDS-Europe championships get under way with Division II in the Kaiserslautern area Monday, with the other divisions following Tuesday. Championship matches are set for Thursday at the Kaiserslautern High School stadium.

SHAPE's Kristian Lozar takes a shot on goal against Alconbury during a game on Saturday, April 26, 2014. SHAPE won the game 6-0. The 2014 DODDS-Europe championships get under way with Division II in the Kaiserslautern area Monday, with the other divisions following Tuesday. Championship matches are set for Thursday at the Kaiserslautern High School stadium. (Adam L. Mathis/Stars and Stripes)

Ramstein's Lorenzo Rodriguez gets off a shot despite the defense of Bitburg's Jason Kloweit in Ramstein's home 4-2 win over the Barons, Saturday, March 22, 2014. The 2014 DODDS-Europe championships get underway with Division II in the Kaiserslautern area Monday, with the other divisions following Tuesday. Championship matches are set for Thursday at the Kaiserslautern High School stadium.

Ramstein's Lorenzo Rodriguez gets off a shot despite the defense of Bitburg's Jason Kloweit in Ramstein's home 4-2 win over the Barons, Saturday, March 22, 2014. The 2014 DODDS-Europe championships get underway with Division II in the Kaiserslautern area Monday, with the other divisions following Tuesday. Championship matches are set for Thursday at the Kaiserslautern High School stadium. (Michael Abrams/Stars and Stripes)

Lakenheath's Kyler Zachary heads the ball away from the Lakenheath goal during a home game on Saturday, May 3, 2014, against ISB. The 2014 DODDS-Europe championships get under way with Division II in the Kaiserslautern area Monday, with the other divisions following Tuesday. Championship matches are set for Thursday at the Kaiserslautern High School stadium.

Lakenheath's Kyler Zachary heads the ball away from the Lakenheath goal during a home game on Saturday, May 3, 2014, against ISB. The 2014 DODDS-Europe championships get under way with Division II in the Kaiserslautern area Monday, with the other divisions following Tuesday. Championship matches are set for Thursday at the Kaiserslautern High School stadium. (Adam L. Mathis/Stars and Stripes)

The 2014 DODDS-Europe boys soccer tournament features a wounded champion reduced to a humble bottom seed, an allegedly wounded champion still playing at an elite level, and a rolling small-school hopeful poised to avenge the loss it suffered last spring. The games begin Monday at sites around the Kaiserslautern Military Community; three championships will be decided Thursday at Kaiserslautern High School. Here’s a look ahead:

Division I: In a way, the large-school boys soccer championship scene will be infused with fresh blood. On the other hand, that fresh blood is likely to come from the two schools that are dominating every team sport this spring.

Defending champion International School of Brussels appears ill-equipped for a run at a repeat after losing the bulk of its talent base over the summer, and will enter this tournament as the bottom seed of the seven-team field. Last year’s runner-up, Heidelberg, will certainly not be heard from this spring; the school closed a year ago. That wide-open championship picture leaves plenty of room for multi-sport juggernauts Patch and Ramstein to elbow into frame. The second-seeded Panthers and top-seeded Royals finished their season without a loss, and played to a scoreless standstill when they shared a pitch April 18 in Ramstein.

That’s not the only close game the two teams survived this spring. Wiesbaden gave each team trouble, though both the Panthers and Royals escaped with a win, and comes in as a dangerous third seed.

Off the mainland, meanwhile, fourth-seeded Lakenheath produced an undefeated season of its own, though its schedule included just one Division I game, a 2-1 win over ISB on May 3. The 5-0-1 Lancers faltered only in a 1-1 tie with Division II SHAPE; they also earned three of their five wins by a single goal.

Kaiserslautern and Vilseck round out the Division I field. Both the Raiders and Falcons will look to shake off middling regular-season records and launch a surprise run deep into the postseason.

Division II: Marymount was supposed to be in the same predicament as ISB, left to defend its championship with a major dent in its talent base. But while some of the prominent names might have changed, the Lions’ talent base appears all but intact.

The tournament top seed, chasing its fourth consecutive Division II championship, went undefeated on the year, with its famously explosive offense producing 26 goals over the course of six games.

That looks good on the surface. But a closer inspection reveals that this version of the Lions might be more vulnerable in years past.

Such evidence piled up over the final week of the regular season, which saw the Lions play American Overseas School of Rome to a 2-2 draw and scrape out a 1-0 win over Naples.

Those two teams happen to be among the biggest threats to Marymount’s burgeoning dynasty.

AOSR fell to Marymount in last year’s championship game and furthered the intracity rivalry with the above-mentioned tie game. But the Falcons’ overall body of work is less encouraging, including an early-season 4-1 loss to Naples and a late-season 2-1 loss to Aviano, relegating the school to a No. 7 seed. Naples fared better, with only a tie with Aviano and the loss to Marymount marring its record; the Wildcats will come in as the bracket’s third seed.

Though 2-2-2 overall, Aviano’s strong efforts against AOSR and Naples make it a dark-horse contender.

Of course, there’s no guarantee that the eventual champion will emerge from DODDS-Europe’s soccer hotbed in Italy.

Second-seeded AFNORTH went 5-1 on the season, losing its only game to Division I Lakenheath. Impressive wins over defending Division I champion ISB and fellow Division II contender SHAPE strengthen the Lions’ case. Germany’s best chances at getting into the title mix lie with Hohenfels, Bitburg and Black Forest Academy.

Division III: The small-school ranks feature a seven-team bracket, a mix of familiar programs that contend in multiple team sports year-round and mysterious entries from DODDS-Europe’s most remote locales.

Defending champion Brussels struggled to a 1-5 regular-season record, but its performance in those games indicates a higher ceiling. The Brigands took tough one-goal losses to upper-division foes Lakenheath and SHAPE.

Top-seeded Menwith Hill, which lost to Brussels for the title last spring, ended the regular season by beating Brussels 4-2, in the process earning a second straight win after opening its season with three losses in a row. Third seed Sigonella flashed its potential in a 1-1 tie with Aviano and a 6-4 loss to AOSR.

Incirlik, Schweinfurt, Ankara and Lajes fill out the bracket.

broome.gregory@stripes.com

Twitter: @broomestripes

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