No defending DODEA European boys soccer champion enters the 2025 tournament as the favorite to repeat.

In Division I, Ramstein sits behind top-seed Stuttgart. In Division II, Naples takes the second seed with a resurgent Marymount team at No. 1. AFNORTH, meanwhile, enters the Division III tournament as the third-seed behind upstart Alconbury and Ansbach, runner-up the last two seasons.

Does this worry these squads ahead of the 2025 European championships that run Monday through Thursday in the Kaiserslautern Military Community? Not really.

“We’ve done it multiple times,” Ramstein senior Andrew Soto said. “We’ve been there before. So, it’s just the same as usual.”

First-year Wildcat coach Susan Fitzpatrick, who won multiple Far East titles while at Kadena in Japan during one of the many stops in her career, said experience could prove key next week.

“There’s no pressure,” she said. “Some of the kids have been here before. I’ve coached in championship games and won championships, so definitely not new to this.”

Division I

The Panthers may be the top seed, but they aren’t getting ahead of themselves.

They only need to look to last season when as the No. 1 squad, they bowed out in the semifinals to the Royals on penalties.

Stuttgart (6-0-1, 5-0-1) also can check out this season’s regular-season results in case it seeks another reminder. The Panthers drew with Ramstein 2-2 on May 3, Ramstein (5-1-2, 4-1-2) fell 2-1 to third-seed SHAPE (6-2, 4-2) on March 22, the Spartans dropped a 1-0 contest to fifth-seed Wiesbaden on April 12 and those Warriors lost 4-3 to fourth-seed Kaiserslautern, which went 0-3 against the other three teams above it in the standings.

Oh yeah, Wiesbaden (3-3-2, 2-3-1) also produced a goalless tie with Ramstein on May 9.

“It’s going to allow for a really interesting tournament,” Stuttgart striker Seth Harpuder said. “This year, I don’t think there’s necessarily a 100 percent clear favorite, and it’s going to allow for some upsets.”

Still, the Panthers have plenty of reasons to be optimistic.

Stuttgart outscored opponents 32-4 during the regular season, allowing goals against just three teams – Ramstein, SHAPE and Division II program Black Forest Academy.

The team also has found ways to score after losing the program’s all-time leader scorer Itzak Sandoval. Harpuder, a senior, and junior Cristian Ingle have led a balanced line.

“We don’t have our superstar anymore, but I think that overall has made us a better team, where we work together well,” senior center back Hunter Leslie-Parsons said.

“We’re very fluid. We know each other very well. Our chemistry is just very strong.”

Ramstein, meanwhile, boasts strong chemistry and perhaps a stronger defensive record. The Royals have allowed just four goals all season, with just two squads breaking through in the Spartans and Panthers.

The defending champions are no strangers to winning it all despite being the lower seed. Last spring, Ramstein was the third seed before taking back the European crown.

“We’ve been at the big stages,” senior center back and captain Kelan Vaughn said. “So, we’ll feel more comfortable, and we’ll be more prepared for it.”

Division II

Marymount coach Alex Klainos could point to numerous victories that have made this season special for the Royals – a 3-2 conquest of crosstown rival American Overseas School of Rome on March 28 and a 4-3 comeback win over Aviano on May 10 chief among them.

Yet the Royal mentor mentioned his squad’s 4-3 opening victory over the defending champion Wildcats on March 15 as a sign of what was to come – an undefeated regular season and the No. 1 seed heading into the European championships.

“That has been a sort of catalyst to the season,” Klainos said. “Starting off with a win against last year’s champions, that really, really kickstarted our season in a big way.”

Klainos pointed to the Royals’ center as the main reason for the team’s success.

Marymount (5-0, 5-0) has a pair of difference makers in midfielder Giovanni Merico and forward Federico Pipitone. Klainos described the former, team captain and the team’s leading goal scorer, as the Royals’ talisman.

Pedro Braz Martins also lines up in central midfielder in front of center back Simone Clemente. Behind Clemente and the backline is goalkeeper Manfredi Geiger.

The Royals will need this core to come out on top of a competitive Division II bracket, according to their coach.

Not only is Naples (7-1, 6-1) nipping at their heels, AOSR (5-2, 4-2) isn’t far behind and hasn’t finished worse than third in seven seasons under coach Giacomo Castelli.

“You have to respect all of your opponents, and you can see that the quality in the league in the different teams,” Klainos said. “I feel that the division has been very strong, and that’s the mindset we’re going to bring to the tournament. We have very strong teams in front of us.”

The Wildcats top that list of strong teams.

Fitzpatrick said the team isn’t disheartened by that season-opening loss, as Naples’ goalkeeper, Joey Randazzo, had to play in the field that match due to a hand injury.

The second seed also has a balanced lineup offensively, and that makes Naples unpredictable to opponents.

“There’s just a handful of kids that haven’t scored,” Fitzpatrick said. “That’s a big difference from previous years I think, too. Sometimes, they only have a few players that can score a lot of times. So, we’re just really versatile.”

Division III

Alconbury coach Leslie Atkins-Hash cannot help but admire her Dragons (6-0-1, 6-0-1) when their possession-based, one- and two-touch style of play is flowing.

“If you get to … watch them play, it’s just beautiful soccer,” Atkins-Hash said. “They dance across the field.”

That happens when your roster boasts three sets of siblings – sophomore Isabella and senior Manuel Minjarez, senior Taye and freshman Kai Vickerstaff, and seniors Leo and Sofia and freshman Max Politis. The Politis siblings themselves have dished out 19 assists, six of which have come from Sofia on the wing.

These familial bonds, combined with sharpshooter Keiran Daley and senior midfielder Aaron Dudley, have the Alconbury coed squad sitting with the No. 1 seed heading into the boys tournament.

Daley himself has totaled 16 goals, and his coach described him as tough to stop.

“I would not ever want to get in the way of one of his strikes,” Atkins-Hash said. “They’re blistering fast and strong.

“He could be talented anywhere on the pitch, but it doesn’t make sense to put him anywhere else. He’s so skilled at what he does.”

Daley isn’t the only attacker in the division who can change the match. In fact, the Dragons got a chance to see one such player – Daeveon Browne – during their 2-2 tie against Ansbach (3-3-1, 3-1-1) on May 10.

The Cougar senior put two past Alconbury when the defense lost track of him. Atkins-Hash said that cannot happen in the KMC.

That experience was a reminder the program’s first title since 2016 won’t be handed to the Dragons.

“We’re not underestimating any of our opponents,” Atkins-Hash said. “Every team that we’ve seen this season has missed a key player or two.

“We’re looking forward to every single challenge.”