Subscribe

Girls soccerRamstein at Wiesbaden Saturday When every team qualifies for the postseason, as they do in DODDS-Europe soccer, it can be difficult to find significance in regular-season scores. But the Wiesbaden girls team’s efforts so far this spring indicates a team on the verge of making serious playoff noise.

The Warriors started their season with consecutive shutout routs of lower-division squads Black Forest Academy and Ansbach. On March 28, in its last game before the break, Wiesbaden played perennial power Patch to a 1-1 tie.

That unbeaten record and attendant momentum will be put on the line Saturday against Ramstein, the defending Division I champion. The Royals are exploring new levels of dominance, totaling 28 goals in four games – all against Division I opponents, no less - without yielding a single goal in return.

The Division I title scene is more crowded than ever with the arrival of Naples and Vicenza. This weekend might determine if there’s room for Wiesbaden near the top of it.

The Royal-Warrior boys matchup, meanwhile, is less glamorous on paper but might prove equally compelling. The Ramstein boys are rounding into form as they mount a title defense with an almost entirely revamped roster. Wiesbaden, meanwhile, finally found some offense in a 5-2 loss to Patch on March 28 after going scoreless in its first two games.

TrackAnsbach, Hohenfels, Patch, Aviano, Vicenza, Naples, AOSR at Vilseck Saturday The interval training of DODDS-Europe’s early track season transitions into a sustained push this weekend. Saturday’s three meets at Brussels, Ramstein and Vilseck set off an uninterrupted six-week schedule culminating in the European championship meet May 22 and 23 at Kaiserslautern High School.

The meet in Vilseck is the most diverse of the group, mingling German teams Ansbach, Hohenfels, Patch and the host Falcons with Italian visitors American Overseas School of Rome, Aviano, Naples and Vicenza.

Patch was the breakout team of the season’s lone meet before spring break; the Panther boys and girls both secured sizeable team victories over Wiesbaden on March 28, and both Patch squads posted team totals that were the highest of any of the four DODDS-Europe meets that day.

Meanwhile, the Italian teams were competing under their usual sequestered conditions. The Naples boys and Vicenza girls claimed victory then and will look to repeat the feat against Saturday’s more expansive field.

Sign Up for Daily Headlines

Sign up to receive a daily email of today's top military news stories from Stars and Stripes and top news outlets from around the world.

Sign Up Now