Freshman Aubrey Oh sends the ball toward the goal in a game earlier this season against Matthew C. Perry. Oh scored the winning goal Wednesday in Yokota’s 1-0 victory over the Samurai for the girls Division II title. (Kevin Rossiter/Special to Stripes)

MISAWA AIR BASE, Japan – Lining up from 20 yards away to take a direct kick, Aubrey Oh said she was battling something of a case of nerves.

There were four minutes left in full time of a match that to that point was a defensive struggle, Matthew C. Perry and Oh’s Yokota team playing scoreless soccer. And now, Oh had a chance to break that deadlock as the sun was setting on Robert D. Edgren’s Eagles Field.

“I told myself I had to make it, because it was our last chance,” said Oh, who netted the shot past Samurai keeper Raelin Reyes, boosting the Panthers to a 1-0 triumph in Wednesday’s Far East Girls Division II tournament final.

“I was very nervous” getting ready to take the kick, said Oh, who led the Panthers with 37 goals this season. “And I was relieved when it went in.”

It was something the Panthers had been working on much of the season, longtime Yokota coach Matt Whipple said.

“It’s something she (Oh) has developed an aptitude for, and we decided to give it a shot,” Whipple said, noting that Reyes and the Samurai had recorded six shutouts prior to that. “They conceded one goal the entire tournament, and that was it.”

CAJ’s Ashlie Sawka and Zama’s Lainey Felt chase the ball during Wednesday’s girls Division II playoff match. The Knights won 3-2 in penalty kicks. (Elizabeth Passey/Special to Stripes)

E.J. King’s Miu Best and M.C. Perry’s Sasha Malone scuffle for the ball during Wednesday’s girls Division II soccer playoff match. Malone and the Samurai dethroned the defending champion Cobras 1-0. (Elizabeth Passey/Special to Stripes)

Sacred Heart's Saya Miyawaki and King's Miu Best give chase during Wednesday's third-place Girls Division II soccer match. The Symbas won 5-4. (Elizabeth Passey/Special to Stripes)

Samurai coach Daniel Burns summed up Oh in two words: “She’s amazing.”

Yokota (17-5-2) achieved redemption for dropping last year’s final to E.J. King, capturing its fourth D-II soccer title but first since 2018. The Samurai were shooting for their third D-II girls soccer title and first since 2017.

It was a short-handed Yokota squad which lost its starting goalkeeper Marisela Post and defender Caitlin Handley to injuries. Left wing Ayae Brown, who had never played keeper before, drew the net assignment for the Panthers.

“She did a really good job,” said Panthers assistant Keiya Carlson.

For the Samurai (13-13-2), it marked a disappointing end for what had been a Perry team that came alive in the tournament, going 6-1. Perry dethroned defending champion E.J. King in the semifinals 1-0.

“Just being more organized in our team shape,” Burns said. “Putting more speed in the back line and playing with two tall, physical defensive midfielders has helped our defense,” Burns said. “I also feel we have the best keeper in Reyes.”

But it wasn’t enough for a Samurai team, whose assistant coach, Erika Ettl, graduated from Yokota in 2012.

“It was fun to coach against them in the tournament,” Whipple said of Burns and Ettl. “It was a really even playing field going into this tournament. This feels really good.”