KAISERSLAUTERN, Germany – With just two weeks to prepare for the soccer season, the Stuttgart boys soccer team could have been rusty during its opening match with Kaiserslautern on Saturday afternoon.

Instead, the Panthers appeared to be a well-oiled machine. Stuttgart pounced for six goals in the opening 24 minutes and cruised to a 7-0 road victory.

Senior forward Ryan Stevenson admitted Stuttgart (1-0) did experience some pains – during tryouts, that is. After that, it was like riding a bicycle.

“Most of these guys on varsity, we’ve been playing together for the past two years,” Stevenson said. “We have a pretty similar team to last year, and it kind of came easy to us.”

Stuttgart has many of the same names from the 2023 squad that won the program’s first Division I European championship since the school changed its name and moved to Panzer Kaserne. Star Itzak Sandoval scored a goal and recorded an assist on Saturday, and sophomore Cristan Ingle, who tallied the match-winning goal in last year’s title game, also found the back of the net in the 7th minute.

Still, the team is missing a few key pieces from the title winner. Coach Nathan Garrett said he has challenged returners and other upperclassmen who joined the team after last year’s success not to be complacent.

“On our warm-ups, we got a star on our crest, and I say, ‘How do you want to keep writing that legacy? Do you want to honor it or keep working toward it and leave it for the next generation? Or do you want to whittle it away?’” Garrett said. “I think these guys are stepping up to the plate.”

The Panthers came out flying from the opening whistle, pressing the Raider back line after losing the ball and attacking relentlessly.

Nobody fit that description more than Stevenson. The 5-foot-7 attacker forced a turnover in the Kaiserslautern defense and slotted home past goalkeeper Sean Gooden in the second minute. Stevenson proceeded to have a foot in four of Stuttgart’s first five goals – including a hat trick he completed by dribbling around Gooden in the 22nd minute after getting behind the Raiders (0-1) again.

After basketball and swimming kept him away from the soccer field this winter, the senior said he was ready for Saturday.

“The whole week, you can ask my teammates, I was pumped up,” Stevenson said. “I believed it all week that I was ready for this game this week.”

For the Raiders, it was a forgetable match. They didn’t create many chances with just a pair of shots on net from Wealsy Manson and Isaac Phillips – even though the home team had four corners in the first half.

Coach Enrique John didn’t blame the short preseason, instead shouldering it himself. He also said the Raiders will look to improve ahead of the next match at SHAPE.

“There’s actually no excuses for today,” John said. “We have to get back to the drawing board, fix it. As we say, it was a bad day at the office.”

Just like the boys, the Stuttgart girls are the defending Division I champions.

But unlike their male counterparts, the girls are in flux. The Panthers lost many key pieces from the title-winning squad, and a new coaching staff – head coach John Bowman and assistant Chris Kelly – have taken over.

These could explain the early struggles during Stuttgart’s 2-1 comeback victory over Kaiserslautern in the early match, especially because of the two-week preseason.

“The team was nervous because of the unknown and the short time that we’ve had to come together as a group,” Kelly said.

Not that the Panthers (1-0) didn’t have chances in the first half.

Senior newcomer Leeba Curlin had three chances, including one in the 25th minute that hit the bottom of the crossbar and bounced out, while freshman Madeleine Fleming shot just wide from 14 yards out after receiving a diagonal ball on the right side of the box.

Frustration turned into relief early in the second half. After Kaiserslautern turned it over, the ball ended up with Curlin yards away from the goal. She didn’t miss that opportunity in the 43th minute.

Then, in the 61st minute, Curlin once again found the back of the net. The winger/striker muscled off a Raider, dribbled more than 20 yards behind the defense and slotted the ball past Kaiserslautern keeper Jada Hollis.

“We practiced these scenarios a lot, where I would have a breakaway and I’d slide it into the corner, and I wasn’t able to finish those off (Saturday),” Curlin said. “Definitely frustrated going into the second half, but it gave me the drive I needed to finish them off in the second half.”

The goals erased a first-half deficit that came against the run of play.

While Stuttgart controlled the lion’s share of possession, the Raiders (0-1) took advantage of their lone chance in the first half. Following a foul on the left wing, Ryann Phillips floated a free kick toward the net, and it carried over Panther keeper Anna Roth into the upper right

It was a gut punch for the Panthers, but Curlin said it was a wake-up call.

“They were a physical team; they’re playing at home. We knew we were going to have a battle with them,” Kelly said of Kaiserslautern.

The Raiders had a pair of chances in the final minutes to get a late equalizer. The best chance came when Jedidah Quinland headed the ball when the Panthers failed to clear a corner in the 80th minute, but it went wide of the right post.

Despite the loss, first-year coach Aaron Scalise took plenty of positives from the match. Hollis made seven saves, and the defense blocked many shots to help her out, among other performances.

“I think the possibilities are boundless for us,” Scalise said. “It’s the first game of the season. It’s nerves and jitters, and to be able to come out there and being able to perform the way we did on opening weekend, we’re good with that. We can easily build from here.”

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