Kelan Vaughn of Ramstein slides in to separate Stuttgart’s Seth Harpuder from the ball in the Division I boys final at the DODEA-Europe soccer championships in Ramstein, Germany, May 22, 2025. Ramstein took the title with a 2-0 win. (Michael Abrams/Stars and Stripes)

RAMSTEIN AIR BASE, Germany – Normally when a match is goalless, teams adjust to become more offensive minded, to create goal-scoring chances.

Ramstein bucked that trend against Stuttgart on Thursday evening during the Division I boys final at the 2025 DODEA European soccer championships at Ramstein High School. At halftime, coach Dominik Ludes told his players they weren’t defensive enough and should try to hit the Panthers on the counterattack after getting them to commit errors in possession.

That plan couldn’t have worked any better on the restart. The Royals scored twice in quick succession early in the second half and controlled the rest of the match to beat the Panthers 2-0.

Both goals came from the Royals (10-1-2) transitioning quickly from defense to offense.

“That’s something that we didn’t do in the first half, and that’s exactly what happened right at the beginning,” Ludes said. “They applied it in the second half to perfection.”

With the victory, the Royals recorded their second straight European championship, something their coach said has not been done much in recent memory in Division I.

The players grasped the magnitude of that, especially considering just like when they beat the Panthers (9-1-1) in the semifinal round in 2024, the Royals handed them their first loss of the season Thursday.

“This is a matter of passion,” Ramstein midfielder Santiago Idarraga said. “Both teams have a lot of skill, but at the end of the day, it’s who can deliver and who can give more passion into this game, and that’s something that we had.”

Ramstein players celebrate their 2-0 win over Stuttgart in the boys Division I final at the DODEA-Europe soccer championships in Ramstein, Germany, May 22, 2025. (Michael Abrams/Stars and Stripes)

Ramstein’s Keiran Goodall does a flip after scoring the second goal in the Royals’ 2-0 win over Stuttgart in the Division I boys final at the DODEA-Europe soccer championships in Ramstein, Germany, May 22, 2025. (Michael Abrams/Stars and Stripes)

Ramstein’s Keiran Goodall gets a shot off between Stuttgart’s Christian Groves and Triston Milletich in the Royals’ 2-0 win over the Panthers in the Division I boys title game at the DODEA-Europe soccer championships in Ramstein, Germany, May 22, 2025. Ramstein took the title with a 2-0 win, with Goodall scoring the second goal.. (Michael Abrams/Stars and Stripes)

Ramstein’s Joseph Jost centers the ball past Stuttgart’s Triston Milletich to teammate Santiago Idarraga for the Royals’ first goal in their 2-0 win over the Panthers at the DODEA-Europe soccer championships in Ramstein, Germany, May 22, 2025. (Michael Abrams/Stars and Stripes)

Ramstein’s Caio Anderson slides in to separate Stuttgart’s Seth Harpuder from the ball in the Division I boys final at the DODEA-Europe soccer championships in Ramstein, Germany, May 22, 2025. Ramstein took the title with a 2-0 win. (Michael Abrams/Stars and Stripes)

Ramstein’s Andrew Soto takes the ball up the field against Stuttgart’s Dom Tondre in the boys Division I final at the DODEA-Europe soccer championships in Ramstein, Germany, May 22, 2025. Ramstein won 2-0. (Michael Abrams/Stars and Stripes)

For 50 minutes, nothing separated the two. In fact, it looked as though nobody was going to score.

That didn’t shock Ramstein’s Joseph Yost. Instead of being frustrated by it, the senior striker and his teammates embodied patience, waiting for that golden chance.

“Stuttgart’s a hard team, don’t get me wrong,” Yost said. “We knew it was going to be a tough battle going into this game, but it was going to come. We just needed to give it time, be patient, don’t give up too early and keep fighting for it.”

Yost created that chance out of nothing in the 53rd minute.

Ramstein won the ball in the midfield and got the ball to the striker. He dribbled 25 yards from the center of the field to the left side of the 18-yard box, where he centered a pass to Idarraga. The Atlanta native’s clinical finish gave the Royals the lead.

“When I saw Joseph going down the wing, I just wanted to open myself better in the box,” said Idarraga, who had missed the previous two seasons with a back injury. “The moment I saw the opportunity, I put myself into position and was grateful that I scored.”

Ramstein wasted no time doubling its lead.

In the 55th minute, Yost tackled the ball off a Stuttgart defender, and the ball fell kindly to teammate Keiran Goodall. The junior forward controlled the ball and fired to the left of Stuttgart goalkeeper Caleb Fox.

That was more than enough for the Royals to see out the match.

While the Panthers recorded six shots on goal, most of them came from distance and didn’t trouble Ramstein keeper Elliot Radosevich much.

Ludes credited the efforts of his backline – consisting of left back Nathan Rachamim, center backs Kelan Vaughn and right back Caetano Anderson – for allowing just one goal the entire tournament as well as keeping the Stuttgart offense at bay Thursday.

“Our backline has been outstanding all tournament,” Ludes said. “That’s what you rely on in big games like this, that senior leadership, experience and people that don’t panic when balls are thrown at them, long balls are being kicked at them. Everything Stuttgart threw at our backline; we defended extremely well.”

Stuttgart coach Michael Stevenson explained how his charges rued not taking advantage of their possession during the first half.

Once the Panthers went down one goal, the door was shut in the final third. They just one shot on net during the final 40 minutes of the match.

“You know that Ramstein is just exceptional – very well coached, tons of talent,” Stevenson said. “Any sort of slight slip up, they’re going to take advantage of it, and they did.

“They did the right things once they established the lead in terms of controlling and moving the ball, and we just could not get any footing in the second half.”