Subscribe
Josh Williams, 10, takes the ball up field during a German-American friendship soccer game at Grafenwoehr on Saturday.

Josh Williams, 10, takes the ball up field during a German-American friendship soccer game at Grafenwoehr on Saturday. (Seth Robson / S&S)

HOHENFELS, Germany —Heavily favored SHAPE needed a shootout Saturday to win the Army Europe soccer championship with 5-3 conquest of the Stuttgart Stallions.

The multinational SHAPE team, which includes European players from several NATO nations, was undefeated in pool play of this three-day event.

SHAPE had beaten Stuttgart 3-0 in pool play. But forward Isaac Aku put the Stallions ahead 1-0 Saturday with a first-half goal.

SHAPE threw everything at Stuttgart after the break but was thwarted by tough defense. Three or four times, SHAPE forwards were cut down just short of the penalty area, but the eventual champ was unable to convert the resulting indirect free kicks.

After weathering the storm, Stuttgart took the offensive again, with Aku narrowly missing several chances to increase his team’s lead. With only a few minutes to go, SHAPE forward John Fuoco found space and slotted a goal that tied the game 1-1 and forced a penalty-kick shootout.

SHAPE converted all four of its penalty kicks. SHAPE goalkeeper Chrisos Alexoploulos saved one Stuttgart shot, and another Stallion attempt hit the cross bar.

Hohenfels sports and fitness chief Chris Cornelison said the tournament MVP was Fabion Medhanie. The Mannheim player scored 11 goals, nine in regulation and two on penalty kicks, during the nine-team tournament.

author picture
Seth Robson is a Tokyo-based reporter who has been with Stars and Stripes since 2003. He has been stationed in Japan, South Korea and Germany, with frequent assignments to Iraq, Afghanistan, Haiti, Australia and the Philippines.

Sign Up for Daily Headlines

Sign up to receive a daily email of today's top military news stories from Stars and Stripes and top news outlets from around the world.

Sign Up Now