Susanna Walsh says she and her Osan Cougars hope to learn who the key players are on at least two Division II foes. (Dave Ornauer/Stars and Stripes)
OSAN AIR BASE, South Korea — With just more than a week before their Far East tournaments begin, E.J. King’s soccer teams hope to gain valuable tournament preparation in a weekend series at Osan.
The Cobras boys and girls teams take on the host Cougars on Friday, then face Division I Humphreys and fellow Division II rival Daegu on Saturday. All matches are at Cougars Field.
“It definitely will give us a taste of playing multiple fast-paced games in a short amount of time, which is what Far East has waiting for us,” said Cobras junior striker Aniah Little, who leads DODEA-Pacific girls with 31 goals.
The weekend series gives King a look at teams they don’t normally see during the season, Little said. “We are excited to face some new competition … to better prepare ourselves” for Far East, scheduled for April 27-29 at Yokota.
“We’ve been working hard to improve in every aspect of the game these last couple of weeks of the season and we’re all excited to apply these skills when we go up against the base schools in Korea,” Little said.
While the Cobras boys and girls teams each get three matches, each of the DODEA-Korea sides play just one. But the Cougars and Warriors also get to scout each other, also vital in preparing for Far East.
“We’ll see some of their best shooters, so we’ll know who we have to mark, who are their best passers and who are their core defenders,” Osan sophomore Susanna Walsh said.
Aiden Machmer and Osan's boys hope to get a win against King on Friday. (Dave Ornauer/Stars and Stripes)
This is the last full regular-season weekend prior to the Far East tournament fortnight.
The baseball and softball tournaments are slated for April 22-25, D-I baseball at Humphreys and D-II at Yokota, D-I softball at Nile C. Kinnick and D-II at Naval Air Facility Atsugi.
Track and field follows April 27-28 at Matthew C. Perry. D-I boys and girls soccer are April 27-29 at Kadena, D-II boys at Robert D. Edgren and D-II girls at Yokota.
On the track this weekend, Edgren hosts Yokota, while Perry entertains Zama, Kinnick and King in Japan. Korea welcomes some of Kadena and Kubasaki’s athletes as it hosts its final regular-season meet at Humphreys, prior to the league finals on April 25. Other Okinawa athletes compete Saturday at Kadena.
Okinawa’s regular-season softball finale has Kadena at Kubasaki on Friday. Edgren hosts E.J. King and Perry travels to Zama for both baseball and softball, while Kinnick visits Yokota on Friday. DODEA-Korea’s diamond teams play at Humphreys on Saturday.
On the pitch, Perry visits Yokota and Zama travels to Edgren in the Eagles’ final home competitions for the season. Kinnick’s soccer ledger features weekend matches against American School In Japan.
At least one opposing girls player says she hopes Daegu does well against King on Saturday. “Daegu is one of our friendlier teams,” Walsh said. “I hope to see them win a game. If they don’t, I’ll still be cheering for them.”
