Sports
D-II girls soccer finalZama tops Yokota for first title in a decade
Stars and Stripes
May 24, 2019
Yokota's Emma Oshiro boots the ball past Zama's Abigail Logan. (Hannah Michael/Special to Stripes)
Yokota's Emma Oshiro boots the ball past Zama's Abigail Logan. (Hannah Michael/Special to Stripes)
Yokota's Caleigh Garcia tries to dribble between Zama's Kyleigh Rose and Morgen Barrozo. (Hannah Michael/Special to Stripes)
Yokota's Keiya Carlson keeps the ball away from Zama's Siobhan Grabski. (Hannah Michael/Special to Stripes)
Zama's Kyleigh Rose and Yokota's Abby Schneider chase down the ball. (Hannah Michael/Special to Stripes)
MISAWA AIR BASE, Japan – Top striker Kayesha McNeill and leading playmaker Siobhan Grabski helped bring an end to Zama’s girls soccer team’s Far East tournament title drought.
McNeill notched her 35th goal of the season and Grabski posted her 19th as the Trojans broke Friday’s final match open in the second half, dethroning defending champion Yokota 3-0 and claiming their first Far East tournament title since winning the Division I crown in 2009.
“It’s the culmination of a lot of hard work over the years, belief in the program that we have and it just worked out for us this year,” said Manuel Duarte, who won his first Far East title in his sixth season as Trojans coach.
Unlike that 2009 Far East title when the Trojans needed to beat Kubasaki in a penalty-kick shootout, Zama left nothing to chance, scoring all three of its goals in the second period. Morgen Barrozo capped the scoring with her eighth goal of the season.
Meanwhile, the Trojans defense held two-time MVP and Golden Boot winner Caleigh Garcia of Yokota off the scoreboard.
“We have a very balanced team and we believe in playing as a team, and that helped us get through this,” Duarte said.
Zama finished 18-2-2 on the season, including a second-place finish in the DODEA-Japan tournament. The Panthers closed their season 17-6-1.