Ramstein caps undefeated season with Division I girls soccer title

RAMSTEIN AIR BASE, Germany — The Ramstein Lady Royals claimed their third DODDS-Europe Division I soccer title in five years Friday, shutting out Patch 4-0.

Ramstein finished its season undefeated and held its opponents scoreless in nine of its 11 games this season.

Ramstein head coach Ricardo Buitrago credited the group’s teamwork for its success.

"It feels great to have coached this wonderful group of young ladies," he said.

During their undefeated run, the Lady Royals suffered the loss of two players to injury. Starting keeper Emily Coard was sidelined earlier in the season with an elbow injury, and all-Europe striker Macy Jepsen was on crutches for the championship game, after going down with a knee injury during tournament play Thursday.

Ramstein captain and senior Natascha Fleming scored two goals Friday. When Jepsen was down on the field injured on Thursday, her teammates told her they’d win the championship for her, Fleming said.

"And we did," Fleming said.

Fleming scored her first goal at the five-minute mark when she kicked the ball into the back right corner of the net.

Patch, which controlled the match for about the first 20 minutes despite giving up the goal, had a chance to even the score about nine minutes into play, but a shot by Emma Murray went right into the arms of Ramstein keeper Tabitha Holowka. Patch’s best chance to score came about 10 minutes later when Murray had the ball alone in front of the Ramstein goal. She set up her shot, but her kick struck the crossbar, popping over the net.

Shortly afterward, Ramstein took the momentum, making it 2-0 at the 25-minute mark when a shot by Laura Welch was bobbled by Patch keeper Emily Szabo. The ball squirted out and Fleming booted it in from close range for her second goal.

Ramstein scored again in the first half when junior Jessica Osteen cracked in a shot from a scrum of players.

Patch switched keepers to start the second half, bringing in Sarah Reynolds. However, the move did not stop Ramstein from scoring again.

Ramstein found itself with a corner kick at the 44-minute mark. As the kick came high across the goal, Reynolds reached up and deflected the ball. Ramstein freshman Mackenzie Crews headed in the deflection, giving her team a 4-0 lead.

Ramstein did have one blemish on its otherwise perfect season. That came about two weeks ago when the girls lost a friendly match to their parents.

"We kind of let them win," Fleming said. "We didn’t want to let them feel bad."