FORT HOOD, Texas –
As soon as the pass from teammate Spc. Erick Munoz-Velasco fell in front of him, Pfc. Kelvin Kereva knew he finally had his chance.
Navy goalkeeper Zachary King had stymied Army’s offense in the third match of the 2025 Armed Forces Men’s Soccer Championship Monday night.
But in the 75th minute, Munoz-Velasco sent a pass that put Kereva in prime scoring position on the left side of the field. Kereva from about 8 yards away, kicked the ball past King to give Army the 1-0 lead.
“As soon as I saw it, I realized this was my chance,” said Kereva, who competed on soccer teams in Johannesburg, South Africa before emigrating to the U.S.. “It felt amazing actually to do something for my team. We had a good connection.”
Army (1-1-0) didn’t hold back after finally seizing the lead. The Soldiers continued to pepper the Navy goal. In the 84th minute, Army striker Samuel Eseyin set up Kereva for another shot that King stopped as he fell to the ground.
Despite several clutch saves by King, Eseyin then added another goal from 15 yards away to seal the victory for Army 2-0.
“Our coach told us the best way to play defense is to attack,” said Kereva, a Soldier from Camp Humphreys, South Korea.
Army has now clinched the second spot in the championship match and will take on Air Force (2-0-0) on Wednesday.
The All-Army and All-Navy men’s soccer teams battled to a draw in the first half.
Despite the flurry of scoring chances and getting outshot by the Soldiers, King and the Navy backline held Army scoreless in the first half. King competed against his younger brother, Army Spc. Nathan King. Navy bounced back defensively after giving up seven goals to Air Force on Sunday. But in this game, King, from Naval Station Mayport, started in goal.
“We understood that [Zachary King] was pretty tough and he’s a good keeper so it showed,” Army coach and Chief Warrant Officer 3 Raul Almendarez said.
Garza, earned a penalty kick after getting knocked down in the penalty box in the 8th minute. However Zachary King snuffed out the shot making a diving save.
In the 37th minute, Garza attacked the Navy goal again but shot wide from about 15 yards away.
Navy had one of its best chances to score in the first minute of first half stoppage time when a pass landed behind the Army backline and Navy forward Jaden Joseph sprinted towards the ball. However Army keeper Nathan King left the goal to corral the ball.
Almendarez told his team at halftime to return to the basic plays they worked on during practices to finally break the Navy defense.
“Determination,” Almendarez. “We were getting close the entire first half. At the half I told them to relax and play the simple ball like we’ve been training [to do]. The two goals that we scored were through simple touches; simple plays.”