Damian Perez of King says he sees his Cobras and Ren Spinosi and Matthew C. Perry clashing for the D-II title. (Dave Ornauer/Stars and Stripes)
SASEBO, Japan – Give Damian Perez credit – he knows his history of Far East Division II soccer tournaments.
The E.J. King senior gazes frequently at the first and only banner the Cobras boys soccer team has ever won, in 2007, in a penalty-kick shootout 2-1 over Indianhead International School of South Korea.
“That was almost 20 years ago,” he said.
Eighteen to be exact. And it’s a drought that Perez, the Pacific’s Division II-leading striker with 26 goals, hopes he and his Cobras teammates can end next week at Misawa Air Base, Japan.
“I believe so. King has a great chance of being No. 1 this year,” Perez said.
It will be a three-day Division II tournament that will see as big a change as the event has seen in a number of years.
Two-time defending champion Christian Academy Japan will not be there this year. The Knights will be playing in the Division I tournament for the first time since winning the 2012 title.
“CAJ is where they need to be,” Matthew C. Perry coach Mark Lange said of the Knights, who outscored their opponents 45-3 in last year’s D-II tournament at Iwakuni.
“They might give (defending Far East Division I champion) Kadena a run for their money,” Lange said. “I wouldn’t be surprised if they won that tournament.”
King, considered one of the pre-tournament favorites, lost 5-4 in penalties two years ago to CAJ and 2-1 last year. “With them gone, it opens things up for everybody,” Cobras coach and athletics director Ricky Andrew said.
Amin Alipourkashiki is a four-year defensive starter for King. (Dave Ornauer/Stars and Stripes)
Reid Iverson is in his second season with Osan. (Ashley Angell/Special to Stripes)
As for the reigning D-I champion Panthers, they welcome the Knights to the field, along with Okinawa Christian’s Eagles, coach Abe Summers said. The last three years, the D-I tournament only had four teams; this gives the field six.
“It’s nice to have six teams,” Summers said. “We’re a little nervous because we haven’t seen anybody” outside of Okinawa. “But we’re excited to have some good competition.”
The D-I tournament shifts from Humphreys to Okinawa and is scheduled for Monday-Wednesday at Kadena Middle School’s Habu Field.
D-II moves from Perry to Robert D. Edgren, also scheduled for Monday-Wednesday. It will have seven teams, a goodly amount, but without the Knights present, “it’s absolutely wide open,” Lange said.
“I always feel we have a shot,” Andrew said. “I’ve felt good the last three years. I feel we have a chance to win it.”
One key to the Cobras’ fortunes is having four seniors on the roster. In addition to Perez, King fields midfielder Arona Headley, four-year defensive starter Amin Alipourkashiki and four-year keeper Kent Monto.
“If there’s a favorite to win it, it’s King,” Lange said. “When you have four seniors on the team, they can do well. They’ve got a good chance of winning. “(Alipourkashiki) has a solid right foot and you can’t overlook their goalkeeper.”
Andrew is just as high on Perry’s chances. The Samurai got fortunate in the transfer rounds with Noah Charles, a freshman not new to soccer, coming in from Yokosuka. Junior midfielder Ren Spinosi is the glue that holds the team together.
“Perry has one of its best teams it’s had in a while,” Andrew said.
Will Weatherill is one of four seniors hoping to lead Kadena to a second straight D-I title. (Dave Ornauer/Stars and Stripes)
Elijah Whipp and three other seniors are hopeful of leading Kadena to a D-I repeat. (Dave Ornauer/Stars and Stripes)
Koboyo Awesso, middle, leads Kinnick in goals and assists. (David Shepherd/Special to Stripes)
Kaito Durrance and Kinnick will square off against William Arjmandpour and CAJ in the expanded D-I tournament. (Erick Chedd Ricardo/Special to Stripes)
Kadena will host what should be a competitive field, featuring the Knights with their two All-Far East players William Arjmandpour and Ray Mercanti returning; and Nile C. Kinnick, with its junior midfielder Koboyo Awesso and his 17 goals and 12 assists. Kubasaki and Humphreys round out the field.
“We’ve had a chance to grow and we know Kinnick and CAJ have grown,” Summers said, adding that the Panthers aren’t resting on the laurels of their unbeaten 2024 season.
“We have some seniors who are very hungry to go out and win again,” Summers said of Derek Vaden, Elijah Whipp, Will Weatherill and Calvin Paguada. Last year’s defensive midfielder Jelani McGhee has returned from an ankle injury “but he’s not quite 100 percent.”
It’s a matter of which teams can bring their best game for three days, Andrew said.
“The big thing about a lot of games in a short time is, you have to stay healthy,” he said. “We know nothing about Yokota, Osan and Daegu. Zama always brings a quality, hard-nosed team. Edgren gets better as the year goes by. You definitely can’t sleep on the other teams.”
Still, it’s almost as if Perez has everything mapped out: a final between Perry and King.
“We’re expecting to play them in the finals for an exciting thriller,” Perez said.
