Sports
Far East soccerHosts find themselves in all four soccer finals
Stars and Stripes
May 21, 2014
Kadena's Devin Rodriguez heads the ball in front of teammate Kai Heckerman and Seoul American's Andrew Clark and Devin Furner in Far East Boys Division I Soccer Tournament pool-play action. The teams played to a scoreless draw. (Marie Obsuna/Special to Stars and Stripes)
Kadena's Devin Rodriguez heads the ball in front of teammate Kai Heckerman and Seoul American's Andrew Clark and Devin Furner in Far East Boys Division I Soccer Tournament pool-play action. The teams played to a scoreless draw. (Marie Obsuna/Special to Stars and Stripes)
American School In Japan's Katey Helwick and Nile C. Kinnick's Alyssa Arredondo battle for the ball in Wednesday's Far East Girls Division I Soccer Tournament semifinal. ASIJ won 2-1 in penalty kicks. (Sara Frazier/Special to Stars and Stripes)
If home cooking exists in the world of high school sports, the finals of all four Far East soccer tournaments would be a poster-child example.
All four host teams will play for championships Thursday in the finals of the Far East boys and girls Divisions I and II tournaments, after host schools won a seris of key matches Wednesday.
For the fourth straight year, Kubasaki’s and American School In Japan’s girls will tee it up in the girls D-I final. The Mustangs edged pre-tournament favorite Nile C. Kinnick in a penalty-kick shootout, while the Dragons shut out Yokota 1-0 in semifinal action. The title match kicks off at 4 p.m. at Kubasaki’s Mike Petty Stadium.
Kadena and Kubasaki finished with the best records in the boys D-I three-day round-robin format and will face each other with Far East title honors on the line for the first time since 2006. The title match kicks off at 2 p.m. at the Panthers’ home Ryukyu Middle School Habu Field.
In girls Division II action, host Robert D. Edgren blanked International School of the Sacred Heart 4-0 and now awaits the outcome of knockout bracket action Thursday morning to see who plays the Eagles for the title. It would be the first in Edgren’s history.
Matthew C. Perry boys are no stranger to championships. They’ve won the last two Division II titles and are gunning for a third straight and fourth in school history, after blanking Zama American 3-0 in the champion bracket final. They’ll take on whomever emerges from the consolation rounds in hopes of a three-peat.