An Olympic Development Program soccer team composed mainly of Europe-based Americans won a 19-team, under-13 international indoor soccer tournament Jan. 5 in Heidenheim, Germany, according to their coach, Rob Mallets of Stuttgart.

The ODP squad tied a team from 1FC Saarbrücken 0-0 in the championship game, then won a shootout, 2-1, for the title, Mallets said. This is the first time an American team has won the under-13 tournament, he said.

Emma Mallets and Lina Proska scored the ODP team’s shootout goals, the coach reported, adding that goalkeeper Ellie Welton, the tourney MVP, made a crucial shootout save to preserve the victory. He also reported that Mallets, who scored the only goal of an earlier game against highly regarded FC Effretikon of Switzerland, and Julia Hoffman were voted team MVPs.

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