The 2014 DODDS-Europe girls soccer tournament features the latest installment(s) of a classic European feud, a dynasty looking to add another jewel to its crown and a champion denied a chance to directly defend its title. The action gets under way Monday at sites around the Kaiserslautern Military Community, culminating in three Thursday championship games at Kaiserslautern High School. Here’s a look ahead:

Division I: The Ramstein Royals beat the defending champion Patch Panthers on April 18 in a rematch of last year’s European championship game. But in the context of this rivalry, that win was far from a conclusive triumph.

In 2012, the Royals beat the Panthers 1-0 to win the European championship; a year later, the Panthers reversed that result with a 1-0 win for the 2013 title. The fact that Ramstein won the teams’ regular-season meeting 4-3 this spring doesn’t necessarily mean anything; the Royals also won last year’s regular-season meeting 2-1 before their runner-up finish.

In short, a game between Ramstein and Patch defies prediction. Except that it will likely happen.

The Royals and Panthers are the class of Division I. Ramstein finished at a perfect 6-0, while Patch lost only to Ramstein. As if to drive the point home, neither the Royals nor Panthers yielded a goal to any opponent but each other all season.

That doesn’t mean the rest of the field will be conceding. Lakenheath has a shot after a 5-0-1 regular season, and 2013 semifinalist Kaiserslautern is dangerous despite a marginal 3-1-2 campaign. Wiesbaden finished without a win in four Division I games, while Vilseck went winless on the spring.

The demise of the International School of Brussels squad leaves Division I with six girls teams and, thusly, a change to the tournament format. The six will play round-robin all the way through Thursday morning, with the top two finishers advancing to Thursday afternoon’s title game.

Division II: No team at any level of DODDS-Europe girls soccer boasts the combination of proven talent, up-and-coming stars and championship experience that four-time defending Division II champion Naples possesses. The challenge for the Wildcats, as it is each spring, is to prove that all over again.

The Wildcats’ regular season amounted to pure dominance. Naples scored 39 goals while yielding just nine across six victories, all of which came by at least three goals. And the team only got stronger over the course of the season; the Wildcats won their last three games by scores of 8-3, 8-2 and 9-0.

The top-seeded Wildcats’ trip through the Division II bracket won’t be that painless, however. DODDS-Europe’s most populated division is packed with teams that, under the right circumstances, could force a sudden end to Naples’ dynasty.

Start with the Wildcats’ familiar in-country rivals. The third-seeded Vicenza Cougars, who played victim to Naples’ fourth consecutive title win last spring, gave Naples perhaps the toughest test of its season in a 3-0 loss March 15. Aviano finished its season 3-2-1, including a tie with Vicenza, though it will enter the tournament looking up from the eighth seed.

In Germany, Baumholder showed a knack for playing up to the level of more-talented competition, forcing ties with Division I Kaiserslautern and Wiesbaden and earning the tournament’s seventh seed in the process. But the Bucs managed just two wins on the year, and took losses to two other Division II contenders in Hohenfels and Black Forest Academy.

The Wildcats’ stiffest challenge might come from the distant north.

Second-seeded SHAPE turned in a strong 5-0-1 season, with only a tie with Division I Lakenheath preventing the Spartans from a perfect record. Late-season wins over Division III power Brussels and Division II hopefuls AFNORTH and Alconbury give SHAPE plenty of momentum entering the postseason.

Alconbury and Rota, who faced off for last year’s Division III championship, will try to find success in the deeper and tougher Division II field.

Division III: The graduation of Alconbury, last year’s Division III champion, and Rota, last year’s Division III runner-up, leaves a vacuum atop the DODDS-Europe small-school power rankings. Brussels and Sigonella are perhaps the two most accomplished athletic programs still playing at the Division III level, and might end up playing for this sport’s championship as they have for many other team titles in recent years.

The Brigands produced a strong 3-3 season despite playing just one Division III opponent. The Jaguars emerged with wins over D-II schools American Overseas School of Rome and Marymount.

Another Italian program gets the top seed, though. Florence beat the Jaguars 5-3 on March 22 on the way to a 4-2 season that also included a promising win over Division II Aviano

broome.gregory@stripes.com

Twitter: @broomestripes

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