Zama's Charlotte Callicott sends the ball toward the CAJ net. (Dave Ornauer/Stars and Stripes)
YOKOTA AIR BASE, Japan — Squinting through the rain, Charlotte Callicott lined up for a corner kick, hoping the ball would find Mikayla Ramon in front of the net.
Ramon headed Callicott’s kick into the net seven minutes into the second half. Zama left the rest to its defense and goalkeeper Samantha Kouzu-Ballard as the Trojans blanked Christian Academy Japan 1-0 in Wednesday’s Far East girls Division II Soccer Tournament final.
“I always try to play it to Miki,” Callicott said of Ramon, with whom she teamed for five goals this season off corner kicks. “I try to aim for her head or her chest. She’s the best one to score off those corners.”
Ramon said she tried to put her body in position to aim the ball at the net, where Knights goalkeeper Annabelle Rudd was waiting.
“One of their players had her arm on me, I got in front of the goal, I aimed it for the goal, closed my eyes and it went in,” Ramon said. “I was screaming. I was happy. My mood went way up because I didn’t want to go to (penalty kicks).”
From there, Kouzu-Ballard — whose teammates call her “Skully” — locked down the Trojans net, making 16 saves. She credited Zama’s defense, which she calls the “best in the Pacific.”
“It makes my job a lot easier,” Kouzu-Ballard said. “CAJ is a great team.”
The Trojans (21-3-4) won the tournament title for the second time in school history, and it was their third Far East championship overall counting their D-I title in 2009.
The Knights were trying to become a rare girls program to win a Far East tournament in three sports in the same school year. CAJ repeated its volleyball crown in October and won the basketball tournament title in February.
CAJ's Naya Cummings shields the ball from Zama's Jessie Hunter. (Dave Ornauer/Stars and Stripes)
CAJ's Naya Cummings heads the ball in front of Zama's Jessie Hunter. (Dave Ornauer/Stars and Stripes)
Zama's Regan Brady and CAJ's Karin Chuma chase the ball. (Dave Ornauer/Stars and Stripes)
