Ramstein gears up for tournament by sweeping Kaiserslautern

RAMSTEIN AIR BASE, Germany – The Ramstein boys soccer team couldn’t have asked for a better test than archrival Kaiserslautern in its regular-season finale Friday evening.

The Raiders made things scrappy and cagey over 80 minutes, with both teams combining for seven yellow cards and 22 fouls.

The Royals managed to pass that exam with a 4-1 victory at Ramstein High School.

It’s the type of match Ramstein (5-2, 4-2) will see when the European tournament begins on May 18 in the Kaiserslautern Military Community, coach Reagan Etherton explained.

“We talked about this is every game at Euros,” he said. “When your season’s on the line, you’re trying to get a goal, it gets scrappy.

“You can’t replicate that in practice.”

In his fourth year in the program, Ramstein senior Kai Woodstock said he and his teammates had extra motivation because it was a rivalry match on senior night.

“We came out here with a derby, and we really wanted to win against K-Town,” Woodstock said. “We didn’t want to let down our parents in the stands. We’re playing for all the seniors.”

For much of the first half, though, the hosts couldn’t seem to get much going offensively, thanks to a wall that sat in front of Kaiserslautern’s starting keeper Fabi Flores-Diaz.

Ramstein did punch in its lone major chance in the 19th minute. A Kaiserslautern defensive header went backward instead of forward, and Woodstock took advantage to get behind. The senior striker then slotted the ball home.

That wasn’t enough for the Royals heading into the break, said senior Logan Robosky. And they found their groove after the restart with six shots on goal over the last 40 minutes.

“Obviously, it’s frustrating that we only got a few shots in the first (half), but I think that ended up lighting everyone up,” Logan Robosky said. “We wanted it more; we wanted it for each other.”

A couple of quick goals early in the second half gave the Royals some breathing space.

In the 49th minute, Antoni Edwards crossed the ball to Woodstock, who was wide open 8 yards from the net and buried the shot. Then, in the 55th minute, Woodstock dribbled around the left side of Kaiserslautern defense and quickly beat substitute goalkeeper Finn Derby to complete the hat trick.

“It’s good to see all that hard work he’s put into the program and to his soccer career overall actually pay off tonight,” Etherton said of Woodstock. “Those opportunities when you’re working hard eventually turn into goals.”

The Raiders (3-4, 2-4) got on the board in the 64th minute when Josh Otto converted a penalty. Ramstein also earned a penalty in the 77th minute, which Connor Mack put into the back of the net.

Kaiserslautern coach Aaron Miller praised his players’ effort in the first half. He mentioned a couple of errors undid the Raiders in the second half.

Still, the coach said the Raiders are on the upswing heading into the tournament.

“We’re in a good spot,” Miller said. “We’re going to put a lot of pressure on a lot of people.”

Ramstein coach Alec Rodriguez has noticed his team tends to start slowly.

Friday’s 7-0 victory over Kaiserslautern was no different.

The Royals scored in the fourth minute via a Kayla Groat goal. But it took another 14 minutes before Groat and the hosts doubled their lead after the striker scored off a centering pass from right winger Ava Smith.

Ramstein (6-0-1, 5-0-1) rolled from there, but the start still caused some consternation.

“Trust me, I definitely had my thoughts on the sideline for the first 15 minutes, where I’m like, ‘Hey, we’re starting flat,’” Rodriguez said. “But I think the response from the girls, especially the subs that came in, everybody started to contribute their part.”

Granted, when a team huffs and puffs as much as the Royals did Friday, the Kaiserslautern wall was destined to break.

Ramstein enjoyed a major possession advantage, and it turned that into 13 shots on target over 53 minutes when the mercy rule was invoked.

Captain Isabelle Donkin said the contest became much more enjoyable once she and her teammates started scoring. Donkin made it 3-0 when she dribbled 15 yards in the center of the field and hit a low shot past goalkeeper Sofiana Pope in the 26th minute.

Donkin also assisted on Reese Monson’s goal in the 35th minute, and Olivia Davis cut back inside the box to create enough space to score in nearly the last act of the first half.

Smith crossed the ball to Olivia Loringer in the 53rd minute to make it 7-0. Donkin, Smith and Rodriguez pointed out the significance of Loringer’s goal, as she began the season on the JV team and worked her way onto the varsity roster.

“(It’s) insanely fun, more than you can imagine,” Donkin said. “Once you get a goal, it’s celebration from there.”

Smith herself had a field day on the wings. The Royals noticed the space she had and fed her the ball often, and the captain either went toward the goal herself or set up teammates for numerous chances.

“It just feels good to have that freedom on the outside to make those plays and have those opportunities for people,” Smith said.

Although the scoreline got away from the Raiders (1-6, 1-5), coach Michael Bigbey praised his players’ performance and said the young squad took another step forward.

“These girls really worked hard to try to play with them, and they kept their heads up the whole time,” Bigbey said. “That’s impressive, and that’s a testament to these girls.”