Eglin soccer team takes championship at Lackland

  • Published
  • By 2nd Lt. Andrew Caulk
  • Team Eglin Public Affairs
EGLIN AIR FORCE BASE, Fla. --  Eglin's soccer team won the Defender's Cup at Lackland Air Force Base, Texas, Sept. 6.

Eglin's team beat out 17 other military teams to win their third of the four yearly championships they have entered.

"This tournament is an endurance tournament," said Capt. Robert Wible, team captain. "Most teams play their A team for the first three games. By game two, they have people drop out."

The Eglin team endured three 60-minute games on Saturday, two 60-minute games on Sunday and two 90-minute games on Monday all in the Texas heat.

The team started the tournament with a 1-1 tie versus Langley, followed by a 2-1 win over Columbus. They played Cannon to a stalemate 0-0 in the seed round, Sept. 4. Then they advanced to the semifinals by beating Lackland 1-0 and Tinker 3-0, Sept. 5.

The Eglin team took down their sister base, Hurlburt, 2-1 in the semifinals to move to the final match.

Eglin swept the final game against the Army team from Fort Sam Houston, 3-0.  With the win, Eglin claimed the best four-year record of all the teams with 23 wins, four ties, and one loss.

1st Lt. Jimmy Kellenbence, 19th Special Operations Squadron, won the golden boot award for scoring five goals, the most of any player at the tournament. Goalie 1st Lt. Davide O'Neill, 36th Electronic Warfare Squadron, won best defensive player at the tournament.

"We played really good team defense and shut other teams down," said Captain Wible about their strong defensive stance at the tournament.

The coach attributed the team's win to skill, teamwork, and managing resources.

"You can't afford to have all 11 (of your best) guys in all games," said Coach Dario Ramirez.  "Every team brings something to the table. You have to look at strategy for each team. "Everyone played. This was a team effort of 19, not 11."

The team only came together two months prior to the tournament, but they committed to practicing four times a week.

The Air Force soccer team asked five Eglin players to try out later this year.