Ramstein captain Max Speed tries to hold off Wiesbaden's Ante Dugandzic near the endline during Saturday's match at Ramstein High School on Ramstein Air Base, Germany. Coming to help is Warrior midfielder Robbie Dugandzic. (Matt Wagner/Stars and Stripes)
Stuttgart, American Overseas School of Rome and Sigonella don’t have a lot of things in common.
One they do, though, is all three teams have the firepower to repeat as DODEA European champions in boys soccer.
Another commonality: The Panthers, Falcons and Jaguars will be pressed by those nipping at their heels.
For Stuttgart, Wiesbaden is waiting in the wings after pushing the Panthers to the end in the Division I final. AOSR must contend with hungry Naples and Vicenza squads, looking to return to the top in Division II. The Jaguars, meanwhile, must look toward Ansbach, last year’s runner-up, and AFNORTH, among others, in Division III.
All will be decided May 20-23 in the Kaiserslautern Military Community for the European championships.
Here’s a team-by-team look, based off all the responses Stars and Stripes received from coaches across Europe:
AFNORTH’s Christan Barone makes an acrobatic pass to a teammate as Ansbach’s Sam Hanson defends at right. Ansbach beat AFNORTH 5-3 in a Division III semifinal at the DODEA-Europe soccer championships in Kaiserslautern, Germany, May 17, 2023. (Michael Abrams/Stars and Stripes)
AFNORTH
The Lions’ stellar regular season petered out during the tournament, with a third-place finish despite a 7-3-1 record.
Under new head coach Manny Duarte, AFNORTH expects to be competitive this season.
The Lions have 11 returners in second-team All-European selectee Nathan Goldsmith, Santiago Aponte, Christian Barone, Lucas Czapansky, Nigel DeBruin, Nik Fulde, Benjamin Gallei, Jens Muller, Anthony Romar, Oscar Sanchez and Michael Teichl.
Because AFNORTH has no JV team, the squad will be large. Duarte said he has 13 newcomers, including five freshmen. Among the additions is Marc Kpade, a transfer from Spangdahlem.
AOSR
The Falcons couldn’t be clipped in 2023, going undefeated and scoring 50 goals – 23 in five tournament games alone. That postseason run included allowing just one goal in the Division II final against Naples.
AOSR lost its leading scorer and tournament MVP, striker Gabriele Ghione, but coach Giacomo Castelli, whose teams have finished no worse than third during his five seasons in charge, said he believes the Falcons have a good enough mix of returners and newcomers to defend their title.
Among the newcomers are a pair of players who had a role in last year’s title win. Jacopo Giuffrida earned all-tournament honors, and senior winger Valerio Di Cesare recorded assists in the championship game.
Also coming back are senior Giorgi Antelava, senior Seamus Burges-Sims, Nicholas Duggan, senior Edward Ferretti, junior Shai Gerard, Maxwell Irby, sophomore MengPeng Jiang, senior Tamiru Kefale Beamlak, sophomore Gabriel Muse, Mario Palladino, Edoardo Proietti, sophomore Rayan Rainieri and junior Riley Smith.
Brussels
Playing as a co-ed squad, the Brigands came in fourth place in Division III in 2023.
This spring, the boys are on their own in their second season under coach Andrew Langenstein. And they are looking to build off that 2023 campaign.
Coming back for Brussels is all-tournament selection Cade Wedekind, the team’s leading scorer. Antonio Pranjic will captain the team from the back line, and lined up next to him will be defenders Matthew Rogers and Conrad Adams. Other returning starters include midfielders Nandor Arnold and Arlson Khakimov and winger Tamaz Kapanedze.
Ten underclassmen join the team.
Kaiserslautern
Coach Enrique John’s team has one major goal: improve on its fifth-place finish last spring.
It starts with the leadership of Aaron Zamor. The senior midfielder was named to the all-tournament and All-European first teams in 2023.
Also coming back are senior left back Tommy Cahill, junior center midfielder Isaac Phillips, left back Leo DiPola, junior left midfielder Ethan Miller and sophomore center back Seth Patterson.
Joining this campaign are sophomore Derrik Washu and freshmen Ethan Dzwda and Gavin Cahanding.
Lakenheath
The Lancers may have experienced a down year in 2023, going 2-7-2, but they managed to pick up a tournament win and finish sixth in Division I.
Lakenheath brings back plenty of options for 2024, especially in midfield. Senior Cristian Chavira and juniors Jovan Paucar, Micah Rothas and Clay Christensen will see time in the center. Senior Mattias Stadler will play both midfield and forward, and senior Joshua Gabel will line up in midfield and defense.
Seniors Lucius Bowman and Aiden Vaquero will anchor the back line along with sophomore David Kumi-Baah.
Sophomore forward Jonas Ballesteros Burket will lead the attack.
New to the team are senior defender Anthony Mayberry, sophomore goalkeeper Matthew Vasquez, junior Rylen Pontemayor, sophomore Joshua Suh and freshmen Alexander Davis and Julien Paucar.
Naples
The 5-1 loss to AOSR still stings for the Wildcats, and they believe that will help fuel them into being one of the toughest teams in the tournament this spring.
Jackson Shorey will play a key role in that championship push. The junior striker finished 2023 as the team’s leading goal scorer with 18.
Providing leadership is junior center back Camden Kasparek and senior winger Joaquin Villescas, Naples’ captains.
Stepping between the sticks will be new goalkeeper Joey Randazzo. Alessandro Vavra enters the midfield as a starter, while Joshua Banks joins the squad to play right wing.
Ramstein
The Royals enter 2024 with a young squad that coach Dominik Ludes calls talented with potential to do something come tournament time.
To help the team grow, Ramstein will bank on the experience of three players. Senior midfielder Max Speed earned all-tournament and first-team All-European honors for his efforts in leading the team to third place in Division I. Defender Kelan Vaughn and forward Andrew Soto also return.
New to the squad are forward Shaun Young and defender James Croot.
Sigonella
The Jaguars are looking for a three-peat in Division III, but they lost first-team All-European player and tournament MVP Tim Garcia to graduation, among others.
Mikolaj Czernielewski will try to fill the void up top. The junior striker recorded three goals and four assists in 2023. Defensive standouts Jayden Reed (senior) and Sebastian Hedemand (junior) bring a solid foundation to the back line.
Nathan Hermanson and Aiden Shaposka are two of the newcomers expected to impact Sigonella’s title defense.
Stuttgart
The Panthers exorcised their demons with a come-from-behind victory over Wiesbaden in the 2023 Division I final.
In 2024, Stuttgart will try to run it back with many of the same players.
Five seniors and four sophomores lead the way. It begins with senior attacker Itzak Sandoval, whom coach Nathan Garrett described as a “freak” following last year’s championship game. The tournament MVP and first-team All-European player scored a 47-yard goal in the second half for an equalizer in the title game.
Forward/midfielder Ryan Stevenson, center back Jacob Schudel and fullbacks Gabe Tamez and John Gilliland round out the experienced senior class.
Cristian Ingle leads the sophomore contingent. The midfielder pounced on a turnover in the 76th minute and scored the championship-winning goal.
Also back are midfielder Maddox Beaudroux, midfielder/center back Cristian Groves and midfielder/defender Hunter Leslie-Parsons.
Along with a group of freshmen, senior Gabriel Maples is expected to play a role for the Panthers.
Vicenza defender Andrew McGovern beats American Overseas Schools of Rome winger Rayan Rainieri during a Division II semifinal at the DODEA European soccer championships on May 17, 2023, at VfR Baumholder's stadium in Baumholder, Germany. (Matt Wagner/Stars and Stripes)
Vicenza
The Cougars faltered in the knockout rounds of the European championships after going 7-2 during the regular season, losing to eventual champion AOSR in the semifinals and Marymount in the third-place match.
It marked the second-consecutive fourth-place finish, something Vicenza hopes to improve upon this spring.
From that squad return 11 players, including nine starters. Those veterans are seniors Jalen Robertson (striker/midfielder), Nicholas Morton (goalkeeper/midfielder), Andrew McGovern (midfielder/defender), Elias Pratt (defender), Sam Grady (defender/midfielder), Peter Hartman (defender) and Colin Frazee (midfielder/defender); junior Triston Miletich (midfielder); and sophomores Andrew McGovern and Kyler Mukai (defender); and David Beane.
New to the team are Karl Kukk, Vic Tapong, Triston Thornton, Lucas Galesi, Maddox Braxton, Charles Gilbertson, Raul Carrillo, Arthur Shore and John Culpepper.
Wiesbaden
The Warriors came so close to bringing home that elusive European title in 2023, just to fall a few minutes short.
This spring, Wiesbaden wants to improve on that 10-2 record, and the team has plenty coming back to do so under the tutelage of coaches Roberto Eiseman and Tariq Zangana, both 2019 Wiesbaden graduates.
Returning are senior defenders Michael Friel, Damien Messineo, Nicholas Truchon and Ante Dugandzic, sophomore midfielder Robert Dugandzic, senior midfielder Noah Lee, junior midfielder Sean Heeter, junior defender Jhon Colorado, senior striker Jacob Goodman and Alexander Brookhart.
John Lex and Jayden Tallant will take over at goalkeeper. Also new to the squad are defenders Brady Blacke and Jodhary Pamphil, midfielder/attacker Isaiah Corckett and defensive midfielder Jaden Ruiz.
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