Daegu’s Denali Clites dribbles against King’s Gigi Garcia and Kay Schwartz-Ybarra. (Dave Ornauer/Stars and Stripes)
What a difference a week made.
Daegu’s girls soccer team took a 9-0 pounding against E.J. King, one of the teams the Warriors will face in the Far East Division II, starting Monday at Yokota.
But that same Daegu team got a huge confidence boost last weekend in the Korea Plate Tournament at Incheon. Denali Clites, a senior striker, earned Most Valuable Player honors for a Warriors side that won its three matches, including the final 1-0 over Dulwich College Seoul.
“I never expected this,” Warriors first-year coach Don Park said. Clites got the match’s lone goal off an assist by freshman teammate Mila Buettner. Alayna Rice was named the tournament’s best defender.
But what does it mean for the Warriors moving forward?
Beating teams in Korea’s third-tier White Division is one thing. But the opposition they will face at Far East is equivalent to Korea’s top-tier Blue Division. And Park says he and his players know it.
“It’s a big confidence booster,” Park said of the Plate title. “And they are very confident right now. But … we have to change strategy and up our scale to play good matches with E.J. (King), Zama and Yokota.”
The loss at Osan Air Base to the Cobras a week ago “was a wakeup call for all the girls. We realized, what we were doing was not working. We have to come up with a new strategy, new formation, that’s what we discussed. But we’re excited. Very excited.”
The Warriors won’t get much rest following the Plate tournament which was played at Incheon, six driving hours away from Daegu. They had to turn around immediately and depart for Yokota at 3 a.m. Sunday.
“Against all odds,” Park said. “This team will possibly win some. Hopefully.”
Daegu goes up against a Trojans team that’s flush in scoring power. Returner Jessie Hunter has 20 goals and newcomer Charlotte Callicott is second in D-II with 27 goals.
King junior striker Aniah Little paces all Pacific divisions with 37 goals. Angie Velez-Soto, a transfer, tops Yokota with 16 goals, and longtime Panthers coach Matt Whipple says he likes where his team is.
“It’s going to come down to who can execute on the last three days of the season,” Whipple said. “There are some strong this this year at Far East. Our team is in a good place right now. I like our chances.”
Kubasaki's Alexa Welsh dribbles between Kadena's Sophia Fineman and Whitney Cook. (Dave Ornauer/Stars and Stripes)
The Division I field is back up to six teams with the return of 2024 champion American School In Japan, which beat defending champion Kubasaki on penalty kicks in the final two years ago at Guam High.
The Dragons lost three speedy, powerful scorers to graduation, but they’ve been replaced ably by transfer Kayden Kammac and freshman Alexa Welsh, who each have 11 goals.
“Convert the chances we create and stay healthy,” Kubasaki coach Chris Eastman said of his team’s hopes for defending its title.
Nile C. Kinnick has come close the last few years only to come up short. The Red Devils have eight seniors in the lineup, so for coach Nico Hindie’s charges, it may be now or never.
“This is it. Definitely a big moment for our seniors,” Hindie said of a team featuring Alyssa Staples (26 goals), Valentina Sacca, Rachael Vite, defensive star Julie Blackwell, Victoria Justice and others.
“To win Far East, you need to bring your ‘A’ game and have some good luck and stay healthy,” Hindie said of a tournament being played on Okinawa.
“Three days in that oppressive heat factors in, especially when we just played our last game Thursday in real-feel 7 degrees Celsius (45 Fahrenheit). Stay disciplined and support each other.”
