Mannheim's Tayeisha Jackson, left, and SHAPE's Megan Campany fight for the ball in the DODDS-Europe girls Division II soccer final, which Mannheim won 2-0. (Michael Abrams / S&S)
Mannheim's Tayeisha Jackson, left, and SHAPE's Megan Campany fight for the ball in the DODDS-Europe girls Division II soccer final, which Mannheim won 2-0. (Michael Abrams / S&S)
SHAPE goalie Natascha Hauber can't stop Mannheim's Alanna Crockwell from scoring her second goal of the day. At center is SHAPE's Liv Wicksell. (Michael Abrams / S&S)
RAMSTEIN AIR BASE, Germany — Chalk up another 2008 title for the Mannheim girls.
The undefeated Lady Bison shut out SHAPE 2-0 Saturday to win the Division II girls soccer title. Earlier this year, the Mannheim girls basketball team took the Division II championship. Four girls played on both teams.
Sophomore Alanna Crockwell had a goal in each half for the game’s only scores. Both came on breakaways where she got past defenders and faced SHAPE goalie Natasha Hauber one-on-one.
"It was just me and the goalie," Crockwell said. "The net was calling my name."
Mannheim earned the tournament’s top seed after finishing the regular season undefeated. Second-seeded SHAPE entered the tournament with only one loss, which came at the hands of the International School of Brussels, the girls Division I champ.
One of Mannheim’s key pieces of strategy was shutting down SHAPE’s Dominique Anduaga-Arias, No. 17, said Lady Bison assistant coach Martin Goering. "I told the girls if we contain 17, we would win," he said.
Mannheim’s focus and discipline contained not only Anduaga-Arias but also the whole SHAPE team, particularly in the first half when the Lady Spartans saw few scoring chances.
During the first half, Mannheim had several crossing passes in front of the SHAPE goal but keeper Hauber prevented the Lady Bison from shooting. But in the 27th minute, Crockwell scored her first goal from the left wing.
In the second half, Mannheim senior Tayeisha Jackson had a scoring chance from the right wing, but her shot was stopped by Hauber.
SHAPE increased its scoring chances in the second half but could never get on the board. The Lady Spartans bench cheered its team on with shouts of: "You can do it. You can win. Come on."
But in the 70th minute, it was Mannheim that scored. Crockwell beat Hauber, putting the ball in the back of the net. Hauber got banged up on the play and went down with a leg injury. However, she got up shortly thereafter.
In the final scoring chance of the game, Crockwell nearly notched a hat trick when Mannheim freshman Anna Cressler fed her a beautiful pass in front of the SHAPE goal. Although Crockwell couldn’t make it to the ball, it was a fitting display of teamwork.
"I couldn’t have done it without the team," Crockwell said of her two goals. "Together we succeeded."
After shaking hands with their opponent, the Lady Bison grabbed their water buckets. As head coach John Crockett and Goering passed, the players dumped water and ice over the coaches’ heads.
