Eglin soccer team wins Defender's Cup

  • Published
  • By Kevin Gaddie
  • Team Eglin Public Affairs
EGLIN AIR FORCE BASE, Fla. --  Eglin's soccer team won the Defender's Cup tournament, hosted at Lackland Air Force Base Sept. 1-3.

Eglin's 16-member team triumphed over 22 armed forces teams. They outscored their opponents 20-3 in seven matches over the three days.

"We were talked about as the team to beat," said Jeff Gibson, who played several positions but usually started in midfield. "We had a reputation to defend."

The first two games set up the seeding for the knockout round, where all teams participated and the eliminations began. Eglin entered the knockout round as the number one seed.

They beat Hill 3-1 Sept. 2 in the Sweet 16 game, the first elimination round, and narrowly edged Columbus 1-0 in the quarterfinals.

"Columbus beat us 3-0 in the quarterfinals last year," said Junior Reid, the team's center forward.

Eglin blanked Kirtland 2-0 Sept. 3 in the semifinals and outlasted Fort Bliss 2-1 to win the championship game. Goalie Shawn Gresham was named the tournament's defensive most valuable player. He allowed only three goals in seven games.

Reid said preparation was the key to the tournament victory.

"We have a core group of six or seven guys, who have played together for at least two or three years," he said. "We know each other's tendencies pretty well. That worked to our advantage."

Gibson and Reid said with a smaller team roster than everyone else, Eglin had to utilize its players wisely.

"Most teams had 20 players or more," he said. "By the final game, we were down from 16 to 13. One player was hospitalized; one left early, and one got red-carded and couldn't continue. We went down to two substitutes, so we had to play smarter, not harder, than the other teams."

Reid said his team also managed their on-field time well in the 105 degree Texas heat.

"We monitored how many minutes we played, and we took care of our bodies for the next day," he said. "It was all about hydration, snacking when we could and finding the shade," he said.