May 13, 2016 –
Air
Force prevailed in their rematch against Navy 3-2 Friday afternoon to capture
the 2016 Armed Forces Men’s Soccer Championship after a week’s long tournament
at Fort Benning, Ga.
Navy
Ensign Alex Wilson of NAS Pensacola, Fla. struck first with a solid goal in the
12th minute, in what it would appear to be a repeat of the first match between
the two squads on day two of the tournament.
However,
Air Force Airman 1st Class Christopher Grant of Ramstein Air Base, Germany had
other thoughts as he entered the box to score the penalty kick in the 17th
minute.
Air
Force capitalized on their momentum with goals by 2nd lt. Micah Cummins of RAF Mildenhall, UK and Airman 1st Class Benjamin Latimer of Pope Army
Airfield, N.C. in the 45th and 66th minutes respectively.
Air
Force defense held strong throughout the second half. In the final minute of
the match, Petty Officer 2nd Class Kyle Baker of Prince George, Md. scored
Navy’s final goal on a penalty kick.
“This
feels absolutely amazing” said Air Force Head Coach Lt Col Derrick Weyand of
Incirlik Air Base, Turkey.
“We by
far had the best team out here…we just had to play at our level,” said
Weyand. “These guys perfected the game
plan and I couldn’t be more proud of them, because they executed the plan. The toughest team we faced was Navy,”
continued Weyand, “Their team and their coach are tactically sound and by far
the Navy did an exceptional job.”
“Highlight
of the tournament was winning with the guys,” said the tournament leading
scoring Christopher Grant.
“They
wanted revenge so bad because they lost to the Army last year. And to come
here, arm the guns and win the gold is salvation.”
BRONZE
MATCH
Looking
to avenge their first match against the Marines, Army Capt. Andrew Hyres of
Joint Base Lewis-McChord, Wash. took the opening kick and drove down the field,
catching the Marines’ defense flat-footed for Army’s first goal of the game in
less than 30 seconds.
Army
dominated play throughout the first half of the match with a 1-0 lead at half
time.
Army
came out strong again the second half with Sgt. Joseph Karslo of Joint Base
McGuire-Dix-Lakehurst, N.J. in the 50th minute.
The
Marines refused to quit despite their 2-0 deficit. In the 66th minute, Cpl Alexander
Figueroa-Roncon of Marine Corps Air Station Yuma, Ariz. finessed a kick over a
wall of Army defenders to breathe life into the Marines.
In the
79th minute Marine Sgt. Glenn Duffy of Quantico, Va. tied the match at two
goals apiece.
As the
match drew to a close, Marine Cpl. Juan Medina of Camp Pendleton, Calif. drove
hard to the net for the goal in the 90th minute to lift the Marines over the
Army as time expired to win the match 3-2, securing third place in the
tournament.
ALL-TOURNAMENT
TEAM SELECTIONS:
Goal
Keeper: Sgt. Hector Zepata – Army (Fort Carson, Colo.)
Defender:
Sgt. Joseph karslo – Army (JB McGuire-Dix-Lakehurst, N.J.)
Defender:
2nd lt. Scott McGillivray – Air Force (Malmstrom
AFB, Mont.)
Defender:
1st Lt. Darin Nottingham – Air Force (Hill AFB, Utah)
Defender:
Sgt. Nixon Keago – Marine Corps (MCB Hawaii)
Defender:
Lt. Micahel Tuddenham– Navy (Norfolk, Va.)
Midfielder:
Airman 1st Class Christopher Grant – Air Force (Ramstein AB, Germany)
Midfielder:
Seaman Angel Vallejo – Navy (USS Abraham Lincoln)
Midfielder: Lt. j.g. Hector Arellano– Navy (NSB Kings
Bay, Ga.)
Forward:
Cpl. Adrian Brown – Marine Corps (Camp Butler, Japan)
Forward: Juan Medina – Marine Corps (MCB Quantico,
Va.)
Leading
Scorers:
Airman
1st Class Christopher Grant – Three (3) goals
Petty
Officer 2nd Class Kyle Baker – Two (2) goals
Fourteen
(14) players with one goal each
In his
selection to the All-Tournament Team, Grant says “All the players that played
here are top class players, being the one to stand out is truly humbling and
amazing at the same time. Hopefully I
make the CISM Team, that’s what I am looking forward to.”
The
U.S. Armed Forces Men’s Soccer team will conduct a trial/training camp in the
December/January timeframe in order to prepare for the 2nd Conseil
International du Sport Militaire (CISM) World Football Cup in Muscat Oman
January 13-29, 2017. This world-class
event will feature 16 teams from around the world.