Marist's Jin Ushio sends a clearing pass between Perry's Anthony Salas and Ren Spinosi. (Dave Ornauer/Stars and Stripes)
MARINE CORPS AIR STATION IWAKUNI, Japan – While Matthew C. Perry came up just short in its bid for a title in the tournament it hosts annually, Samurai coach Mark Lange made a bit of personal history.
Rui Shimono scored one goal in each half and Marist Brothers rallied from a 1-0 first-half deficit to capture the title in the Perry Cup soccer tournament 2-1 on a frigid, blustery Saturday at Samurai Field.
Along the way, though, the Samurai won quarterfinal and semifinal matches that surprised Lange, to hear him say afterward.
Perry edged E.J. King 2-1 on a golden goal in extra time by Ren Spinosi, then survived a penalty-kick shootout to upset the tournament’s top seed Senri Osaka 3-2.
Those gave Lange his 400th and 401st coaching victories over 30-plus years, including 284 wins in 20 seasons at the Samurai helm.
“We weren’t even supposed to be here at all,” Lange said after the final. “I’m really proud of the guys.”
Matthew C. Perry’s Preston Ramirez sends a clearing pass away from the Samurai net. (Dave Ornauer/Stars and Stripes)
Perry's Anthony Salas attempts a bicycle kick in front of three Marist defenders. (Dave Ornauer/Stars and Stripes)
Perry's Keith Ewing and Marist's Jin Ushio try to play the ball. (Dave Ornauer/Stars and Stripes)
Marist's Jay Muto and Perry's Ren Spinosi go up to head the ball. (Dave Ornauer/Stars and Stripes)
Perry's Jordan Burford heads the ball against Marist's SangMo An. (Dave Ornauer/Stars and Stripes)
Spinosi’s golden goal came 1:10 into the extra period in the quarterfinal. The Samurai outshot the Sabres 5-4 in penalties against a team that had beaten Perry 8-1 the previous day in round-robin play.
“The golden goal was special, and to come back after losing to them (Sabres) like that yesterday,” Lange said. “This was a good day. We grew up this weekend, playing in pressure situations the way we did.”
The first half of the final was scoreless until five minutes remained. The Samurai charged up field on an odd-man rush, Spinosi drove past goalkeeper Sehej Chadha well out of the net and sent the ball into the net from 25 yards out for a 1-0 lead.
Shimono answered just before intermission, booting a free kick from the 40-yard stripe through the hands of Perry keeper Jayden Valverde into the net for the equalizer.
With 11 minutes left, Shimono took a through pass from midfielder Jin Ushio, split two defenders and sent the ball over Valverde for what proved to be the match winner.
The teams may well meet again next weekend at the Western Japan Athletic Association tournament at Nagoya.
