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)

When Keiran Goodall gets the ball on a soccer field, not a whole lot goes through his mind.

That’s not saying he’s thoughtless. The Ramstein junior just gets himself in the zone and lets that guide him.

“I don’t really think when I play,” Goodall said. “You’re just in that flow state.

“I’ve been training every day for years and years and years. That flow state comes with confidence you have.”

Goodall and the Royals had plenty of confidence heading into the 2025 season after winning last season’s Division I DODEA European soccer crown. And Ramstein backed that up by repeating as champion this spring with a 2-0 victory over Stuttgart in the title match.

Goodall played a vital role from his forward position, scoring 15 goals and assisting on another 10 for the Royals.

Because of his performances throughout the season, the Division I tournament MVP also was named Stars Stripes’ 2025 European boys soccer Athlete of the Year.

Soccer is the Landstuhl native’s blood. Goodall said everyone in his family has played the game, including his father, Chris, who hails from Liverpool.

Keiran Goodall has played for 15 years, starting just as a hobby. Eventually, that hobby became something more, but the junior said he’s never lost that enjoyment from the sport.

“As I got older, I took it more seriously,” Goodall said. “It wasn’t just fun for me anymore. It’s the only thing I know. It was the only thing that I wanted to do. It still is.”

Goodall had an impact during his sophomore campaign, assisting both goals in Ramstein’s 2-1 upset win over SHAPE in the title match.

For his junior year, coach Dominik Ludes selected him as a captain, giving him more responsibility.

Goodall tried to be the spark for the team when he could tell his teammates were struggling. To highlight his importance, Goodall missed the team’s lone loss 1-0 at the Spartans on March 22.

The co-captain said blemishes like that loss and the two draws to end the regular season against the Panthers and Wiesbaden Warriors were more helpful than the wins. He saw them as lessons.

And the reason those results didn’t harm the team was because of how tight knit the Royals were, he said.

“Being the captain of the team, it’s my job to keep the energy high and keep everybody motivated,” Goodall said. “I know it’s hard sometimes, especially when you’re losing, but when you stick together as a family, nothing’s easier.”

That camaraderie was felt throughout the team but especially in attack.

Joseph Yost, who missed matches after breaking his wrist during the season, spearheaded the attack with Goodall, senior Andrew Soto and junior Santiago Idarraga pouring in from the midfield and wings.

Goodall praised the attackers’ chemistry, which helped Ramstein tally 45 goals in 13 matches.

“That’s really the perfect thing about it, the trust we have with each other,” Goodall said. “I can play Santi the ball, and I can trust him to score.

“Same with Soto. Soto didn’t get as many goals this season, but you can still trust him to play those through balls to Joseph.”

That offense took a little time to get going in the final against Stuttgart, but that didn’t worry Goodall and the Royals at all.

The Panthers and Royals nullified each other until the 53rd minute when Yost centered the ball to Idarraga, who put the ball into the net. Then, less than 2 minutes later, Yost picked a Stuttgart player’s pocket, with the ball ending up at Goodall’s feet in the box.

The junior didn’t miss to seal the victory.

“We had that confidence everywhere, so we didn’t feel like we needed to stay sat back or go more forward,” Goodall said. “We had the even ground with everybody. So, I wouldn’t say it was easier, but everybody had that trust in each other, everybody had the confidence to get that win.”

Goodall has one more year at Ramstein to seek after the three-peat before trying to go after his passion: playing soccer professionally.

To help him reach that goal, he said his focus is on FK Pirmansens, where he and the club’s U-18 squad won the A-Junioren Landesliga Nahe/Westpfalz this season. Goodall scored 10 goals in 16 appearances for the club.

“I work hard every day to get that,” Goodall said of playing professionally. “So, hopefully it can be done in the future.”