RAMSTEIN AIR BASE, Germany – Coach Erika Aquino admits the SHAPE boys soccer team lacks the height many of its title rivals in DODEA-Europe’s Division I.

Thus, the Spartans don’t anticipate having too much success on set pieces. Sure, they practice the plays, but scoring? It’s not high on the game plan.

On Friday afternoon at Ramstein High School, however, set pieces turned out to be key. SHAPE scored twice in the second half off a corner and free kick before holding off a furious Royal comeback in a 3-2 victory.

“To be honest, it’s not the type of goal we’d get,” Aquino said. “To get two on a set play is impressive.”

The win accomplished two things for the Spartans (3-1, 3-1).

SHAPE bounced back after dropping its last match on March 21 at defending champion Stuttgart 2-0. The visitors also beat a contender for the Division I championship this spring in Ramstein (2-1, 2-1), proving SHAPE belongs in the conversation.

“This win brings us a lot of confidence, for sure,” Spartan captain Tycho Kluivert said. “We stayed together, and we won.”

The first half was a cagey, even match in which neither side created dangerous chances.

But the second half started in the exact opposite manner. In the 49th minute, Marcos Gomez sent in a corner, and the Royals failed to clear it past SHAPE’s Tymon Kaminski just outside the box.

The midfielder launched a shot that deflected off Kluivert – a defender by trade who was in the Ramstein box for the corner – and went past Royal goalkeeper Brendan Stuever into the net.

“I know the goalie would have had it, so I thought I could change the direction,” Kluivert said. “Thankfully, it went in.”

That goal started a blitz from the Spartans, who scored three goals in an 11-minute span.

Striker Charles Geib received a pass in the middle of the Ramstein back line, spun to get behind and scores to make it 2-0 in the 55th minute. In the 59th minute, Gomez crossed a free kick by the left corner flag near the goal line, and winger Santiago Torrente de la Pisa rose up like a salmon and headed in the ball.

“When they finally did (get on the board), I think they started to play a little bit better, like themselves,” Aquino said.

For Ramstein coach Dominik Ludes, the beginning of the second half couldn’t have gone any worse, as the Royals lost their shape and composure during those 15 minutes.

They recovered, however, and got on a roll. In the 70th minute, junior defender Kelan Vaughn used his height advantage on a corner to head in a goal, and in the 78th minute, junior Andrew Soto pounced on a rebound to cut the deficit to one.

The comeback turned out to be too late, but that fight excited the Ramstein coach.

“The players either have to show character at this point when we’re down 3-0 and say, ‘OK, this game is over,’ or fight back,” Ludes said. “The last 20 minutes, I saw a team that was very passionate; they were fighting for every ball. That’s something to build on.”

Girls

Scoring doesn’t seem to be an issue for the Royals this season, with the lowest total of five coming on the opening weekend.

On Friday afternoon against SHAPE, Ramstein equaled that mark in just 18 minutes during a 9-1 victory. The mercy rule was enacted at halftime.

The Royals (3-0, 3-0) rattled off seven goals by the 31st minute and peppered the SHAPE goal for 16 shots on target.

Coach Jonathan Bocanegra isn’t shocked by the offensive explosion. He stressed, though, the team must keep the attack balanced.

“We’ve got a lot of girls that are scorers,” Bocanegra said. “We’re trying to go back to the fundamentals, passing to each other, communicate well and trust each other. Shooting comes second, and collective trust comes first.”

That trust showed itself against the Spartans (0-4, 0-4).

Sure, junior striker Claire Boynton dropped five goals herself, including a hat trick by the 14th minute. Four other Royals made the scoresheet and five recorded assists.

Senior captain Julia Adkins assisted on Boynton’s 7th minute goal and followed it with a goal of her own in the 13th minute. Adkins’ defensive midfield partner, junior Kyndra Brown, assisted on a pair of scores, including Adkins’, while scoring in the 31st minute off a pass from sophomore attacking midfielder Olivia Davis who herself assisted on another goal and scored in the 25th minute off a turnover.

Sophomore attacking midfielder Isabelle Donkin curled a shot over SHAPE goalkeeper Sofia Tryon in the 18th minute, and freshman defensive midfielder Audrey Singer finished off a string of passes to set up Boynton’s fourth goal in the 36th minute.

Junior center back Abby Belote assisted on Boynton’s final goal in the 38th minute by heading a ball into the striker’s feet.

“It’s really a team effort,” Boynton said. “At practice, we work a lot on combinations and working together as a team.”

While it was one-way traffic for most of the 40 minutes, SHAPE had a few bright spots.

Tryon stopped six shots, and Flavia Taveri caught Ramstein keeper Bailey Bennett off her line by lobbing in a shot from distance.

Spartan coach John Arias said the team isn’t too concerned about winning, especially as many players are new to the sport.

“What’s exciting is – I get to see it – a lot of the players really have improved tremendously from the time they started two months ago,” Arias said. “They’re just not up to the ability of some of the Ramstein girls.”