Favorites move on to clash in big-school semifinals

RAMSTEIN AIR BASE, Germany — The Ramstein boys soccer team found itself in an unfamiliar situation Tuesday: facing elimination in pool play.

Following a goalless draw with crosstown rival Kaiserslautern on Monday, the Royals needed a win or draw against top-seeded SHAPE on Tuesday morning to ensure a spot in the semifinals of the 2026 DODEA-Europe Division I soccer championships.

Anything less than that likely meant the end of the two-time defending champions’ quest for a three-peat.

“We had our backs against the wall,” Ramstein sophomore Troy Watson said. “We were motivated because there was nowhere to go but up and out of the group.”

The Royals got just the result they needed.

Ramstein recovered from an early deficit not only to advance out of the pool but also to win it in a 4-1 victory over the previously unbeaten Spartans at Ramstein High School.

The pressure was on when SHAPE’s Antonio Evangelista rolled a ball past Royal goalkeeper Grant Anderson in the 7th minute. Yet Ramstein rattled off the final four goals of the match.

“We know the quality that we have,” Royal coach Reagan Etherton said. “We just needed a little spark to get us going, and then once we get the spark, you see what happens.”

That spark came from the team captains.

In the 30th minute, Keiran Goodall launched 37-yard free kick toward the Spartan goal, where netminder Antoni Brucki blocked it. The rebound fell to Ramstein forward Kai Woodstock, who buried it for the equalizer.

That was good enough to see the Royals into the knockout stages, but Goodall said they weren’t satisfied.

In the second half, the Royals ran rampant.

Goodall headed in a deflected cross from Watson in the 42nd minute to take the lead. Then, Watson recorded his first goal of the season with a header off a Woodstock cross in the 47th minute, and Goodall finished the scoring off a long pass from Connor Mack to which the senior captain beat the goalkeeper and hit it into the wide-open net in the 55th minute.

“We’re not a team to settle,” Goodall said. “We’re a team that wants to win every single game, and that shows.”

Next up for the Royals is Wiesbaden, which lost 2-1 against Stuttgart in the other pool’s deciding match. The Warriors (7-3) defeated Ramstein 1-0 on April 11.

The Royals expressed their confidence that the outcome on Wednesday will be different.

“If we just play as aggressive as we did today and are as efficient in front of goal, I think we’re going to have no problem,” Watson said.

SHAPE coach Erika Aquino made no excuses for her ball club, despite No. 1 goalkeeper Peter Sudimak serving a one-match suspension due to a red card from the win over Kaiserslautern the day before and another player missing due to academic obligations.

The Spartans (6-1-2) get Stuttgart (7-1-2) in Wednesday’s other semifinal. The duo tied on May 9 in Mons, Belgium.

The SHAPE mentor said her players must play better than they did Tuesday if they want any chance of advancing to Thursday’s final.

“Unfortunately, this gives (the Panthers) hope,” Aquino said. “Now they know we are defeatable. They’re strong in their own right, and they are now going to have a better idea of how to beat us.

“We need to actually show up and hopefully play cohesively like a team.”

KAISERSLAUTERN, Germany — Coach Nathan Garrett has instilled a mantra into the Stuttgart soccer team: “Do all the little things right. And the little things will build to the big stuff.”

The Panthers received passing marks — for the most part — during their 6-0 win over Vilseck on Tuesday afternoon at Kaiserslautern High School.

The victory gave Stuttgart (8-1-1) the top spot in its pool over the Falcons (5-4-1). That takes the second seed one step closer to its goal: a European crown.

“Whether your opponent is not the best or the greatest, you always have to work on the little stuff to get that big result in the end,” Garrett said.

Tuesday was a big result for Alexandria Lyles. The freshman phenom dropped a hat-trick in the match.

Her first goal came in the 5th minute, when she received a long ball, cut inside and fired the ball home. She added a second in the 53rd minute off an assist from senior Regan Stewart, and the right winger dribbled through the heart of the Vilseck defense for the third in the 55th minute.

“I couldn’t have done it without my team,” Lyles said. “They always have my back for everything. I love having everyone’s help with the game. It’s definitely not a me thing.”

Joining Lyles on the scoresheet were central defensive midfielder Brielle Aplanalp in the 18th minute when she fired home from outside the 18-yard box and left winger Sienna Ingle, whose brace included a penalty in the 21st minute and a tap-in at the back post from a Lyle cross in the 53rd minute.

In the other big match of the day, Ramstein got a little revenge against the only team that picked up a positive result against it with a 2-1 victory over SHAPE.

Senior right winger Ava Smith scored the Royals’ opener, while senior central defensive midfielder Olivia Davis recorded the match-winner. Senior Iveta Stefancinova produced the Spartans’ lone goal.

Smith said the Royals had the 2-2 result on April 25 on their minds Tuesday, saying they hoped a neutral field would give them the edge.

“This time, when both teams were fully rested, it was a chance to see how we actually play together against each other on fair terms,” Smith said.

The results in those two matchups have Ramstein taking on Vilseck in one semifinal, while Stuttgart gets third-seeded SHAPE (4-2-3) in the other.

Vilseck coach John Switala explained his players know the tall task ahead of them, but getting to the semifinals is a big step for the program.

“We’re very excited,” Switala said. “The goal for the season was to win one game, and now we’re in the semifinals in Euros.”

The Spartans, meanwhile, like their chances to pull off the upset, coach Chad Lcuy said. Not only did they keep it close with Ramstein on Tuesday, but they also drew 2-2 with Stuttgart on May 9, coming back from two goals down in that contest.

“Our team knows that they can compete,” Lucy said. “They’re not fearful as they may have been before. They’re excited to play.”