Hohenfels striker Anthony Marshall scored 12 goals during the regular season and 12 in the tournament as the Tigers won the Division III soccer championship this season. (Michael Abrams / S&S)
It’s been a special year for Anthony Marshall.
First, the striker scored 12 goals as Hohenfels cruised through an unbeaten regular season.
Then he matched that total in the European Division III tournament, including two in the Tigers’ 4-0 title-game victory over three-time defending champion American Overseas School of Rome, which had won seven titles in eight years.
A month later, Marshall became the only repeat choice on the DODDS-Europe 2006 All-Europe boys soccer team.
As with the girls squad, offensive stars such as Marshall drew most of the attention from a selection panel composed of Dan Nukala of Ramstein, Greg Blankenship of AFNORTH, Peter Nagafuchi of Naples and Shawn Rodman of Hohenfels.
“It’s tough for defenders,” Blankenship said of the All-Europe first team, which included just three defensive players and no goalkeeper.
“It’s bad that we talk about the strikers all the time, but the defenders are used to it. They say, ‘Coach, we play defense. We’re used to being anonymous.’ ”
Far from anonymous this year, however, was Bitburg sweeper Brian Schwennecker, who Blankenship said played his way onto the All-Europe team by pushing forward.
“He can shoot on you from 45 yards away,” Blankenship said of the player who had a key role in his team’s attack.
Also playing the back for All-Europe 2006 are senior sweeper Jori Dueck of Black Forest Academy and junior stopper Michael Soto of Ramstein.
Dueck anchored a BFA defense that allowed only seven goals in 13 games and one in the European Division II tournament, while Soto, in Nukala’s words, was Ramstein’s “most consistent player.”
The defense would get a workout if it ever took on the offensive side of the ’06 All-Europeans.
Marshall scored 24 times, according to Rodman, largely because of the boost provided by senior forward Idrissa Soumaoro, who scored 15 goals and handed out 13 assists.
Soumaoro “attracted many defenders because of his foot skills,” Rodman said, “which allowed other players to score.”
AFNORTH junior Chris Eden and sophomore David Pohl performed roughly the same way for their team as Marshall and Soumaoro did, according to their statistics. Eden scored five times and posted 11 assists; Pohl had 16 goals and handed out eight assists.
The scoring parade doesn’t stop there. Heidelberg junior Sean Kerber scored 17 times, while sophomore Fernando Barron scored 14 goals for Division II champion SHAPE.
The team’s other forwards, International School of Brussels senior Chris Ireland and Naples senior Dylan Montambo, posted 13 and seven goals, respectively.
Setting those scorers up on this hypothetical squad are midfielders Ryan Puppolo of Heidelberg, Claudio Citta of SHAPE and Lakenheath’s Bryce Watkins and David Parent.
Puppolo, Watkins and Parent are seniors, among seven on the first team; Citta is one of six juniors on the squad.
All-Europe Boys Soccer
All-Europe Boys Soccer
First team
Player,
School Class Pos Stats and coach’s comments
Fernando Barron, SHAPE So. F 14 goals, 2 assists
Claudio Citta, SHAPE Jr. M “Fantastic in the tournament”
Jori Dueck, Black Forest Sr. D 7 goals against in 13 games
Chris Eden, AFNORTH Jr. M 5 goals, 11 assists, shutdown D
Chris Ireland, ISB Sr. F 13 goals for 6-0 conference champs
Sean Kerber, Heidelberg Jr. F 17 goals on 77 shots on goal
Anthony Marshall, Hohenfels Jr. F 24 goals, 9 assists
Dylan Montambo, Naples Sr. F Playmaker; 5 goals, 7 assists
David Parent, Lakenheath Sr. M Captain; “man with ideas.”
David Pohl, AFNORTH So. F 16 goals, 8 assists
Ryan Puppolo, Heidelberg Sr. M Playmaker; 5 goals, 4 assists
Brian Schwennecker, Bitburg Jr. D Big leg: 9 goals on free kicks
Michael Soto, Ramstein Jr. D 2 goals on free kicks, 3 assists
Idrissa Soumaoro, Hohenfels Sr. F 15 goals, unselfish, 13 assists
Bryce Watkins, Lakenheath Sr. M “Looked to for motivation.”
Second team
Taylor Allarie, junior forward, Kaiserslautern; Christopher Campos, freshman striker, Naples; Vincent Crepeau, freshman forward, and Andrew Harrington, junior center mid, Heidelberg; Hakan Demircan and Brandon Foster, both sophomore midfielders, Wiesbaden; Alan Dowden, sophomore forward, Rota; Sean Loughran, senior forward, Ansbach; Chris Maxey, senior midfield, Ramstein; Matthew Parker, senior midfield, Brussels; Jorge Perez, sophomore midfield, SHAPE; Jimmy Pietras, senior stopper, Hohenfels; John Secules, junior midfield, and Jonathan Stimmell, junior midfield, London Central, and Toby Williams, senior stopper, Black Forest Academy.
