Nadia Shimasaki drives the ball up the field against Vicenza’s Brooklyn Jenni in the Division II girls final at the DODEA-Europe championships at Ramstein, Germany, May 18, 2023. Naples took the title, winning 3-1, with Shimasaki scoring two goals. (Michael Abrams/Stars and Stripes)
RAMSTEIN AIR BASE, Germany – When Nadia Shimasaki was younger, she trained with specialized rubber bands to make her legs stronger.
Thursday in the championship of the DODEA-Europe Division II girls soccer championship game, the Naples senior almost nailed a 50-yard field goal. Not that her team would have received the three points. And not that the Wildcats needed the extra points anyway. They dominated most of the game en route to a 3-1 victory over defending champion Naples.
“She can strike a ball,” Vicenza coach Adam Ridgely said in what might be the understatement of the soccer season. Ridgely wasn’t surprised. Shimasaki scored a goal from about the same distance against the Cougars earlier in the season. “You’ve got to mark her closely. And if you do, she can drop it off to (freshman Va Nae Filer).”
Isn’t that unfair?
Shimasaki, who transferred to Naples last year from Guam High, smiled while nodding her head no emphatically.
What was even more unfair was that she marked Vicenza’s top scorer, Maya Fitch, for much of the first half. The Cougars didn’t get much going offensively in that span, getting outshot 10-5.
“She sees a threat and neutralizes it,” Naples coach Alyson Parenteau said. “I told her, ‘you can go anywhere on the field you want to.’ I trust her to know where she needs to be.”
As for where she might be next year, Shimasaki said she thinks she’ll take classes online and stay in Europe with her parents for a year before trying to play soccer in college.
“I’ve been getting some texts from college coaches,” she said. “I don’t think that I’m ready yet. But I would like to attend college on a scholarship.”
Shimasaki showed off her leg strength early in the contest, booting a free kick from the 40-yard line of the marked field just over the crossbar into the net – just a few feet shy of the football goal post.
She said she briefly considered trying out for the Naples football team this year as a kicking specialist – following in the footsteps of her older sister Alexandra at Guam – but ran cross country instead.
A bit later, she put Naples on top 1-0 with a shot from 35-yards out. Filer, the team’s leading scorer, then made it 2-0 after picking up a skewed Vicenza kick and firing it in from 15 yards out from the left side.
Naples’ Va Nae Filer watches her shot sail past Vicenza keeper Gia Barea towards the goal for the Wildcats’ in their 3-1 win over Vicenza in the Division II girls final at the DODEA-Europe championships at Ramstein, Germany, May 18, 2023. (Michael Abrams/Stars and Stripes)
Vicenza’s Caecilia Janssens applauds as the Naples Wildcats celebrate their Division II title after defeating the Cougars 3-1 in the Division II girls final at the DODEA-Europe championships at Ramstein, Germany, May 18, 2023. (Michael Abrams/Stars and Stripes)
Vicenza’s Maya Fitch shoots on goal past Naples’ Sabrina Elrod in the Division II girls final at the DODEA-Europe championships at Ramstein, Germany, May 18, 2023. The Wildcats beat the Cougars 3-1 in the all-Italy final. (Michael Abrams/Stars and Stripes)
Naples keeper Anais Navidad punches the ball away in front of Vicenza’s Kiera Mukai as teammates watch, in the Division II girls final at the DODEA-Europe championships at Ramstein, Germany, May 18, 2023. Naples won 3-1. (Michael Abrams/Stars and Stripes)
Naples ‘ Emerson Shorey and Vicenza’s Dari Lopez-Nieves fight for the ball in the Division II girls final at the DODEA-Europe championships at Ramstein, Germany, May 18, 2023. The Wildcats beat the Cougars 3-1 to take the title. (Michael Abrams/Stars and Stripes)
Parenteau said she was surprised that Shimasaki agreed to be interviewed as she and Filer never want to take credit for the team’s success.
“They know it’s a team game,” Parenteau said. And Naples certainly does have other weapons. Emma Kasparek and Emerson Shorey might be top-scoring options for many other D-II teams.
Shimasaki, named the D-II girls tourney most valuable player, scored on a free kick from 35 yards out in the second half to give the Wildcats a bigger cushion.
Vicenza finished the game strongly with multiple good chances. Brooklyn Jenni put one of them into the net.
“It’s a disappointing loss, but they’re not defeated as a group,” Ridgely said. “They kept playing. Naples was just a better team today.”
