MARINE CORPS AIR STATION IWAKUNI, Japan -- Marines and sailors stepped onto the Penny Lake soccer fields here Sept. 25 to take part in the second to last challenge of the 2009 Commander’s Cup Challenge called Earth Ball.
Earth Ball is similar to soccer with the main exception that the soccer ball is six feet tall.
Five teams consisting of at least four members competed in the single-elimination tournament, which kicked off at 11 a.m.
The order of competition was chosen by Alma Dickinson, Marine Corps Community Services Health Promotions director, by drawing the teams from a hat.
All five teams that had the intestinal fortitude to show up earned 20 points for participation toward their total earned points of the Commander’s Cup.
The teams that came in first, second or third earned an additional ten, seven and five points respectively.
“It was a great turnout today,” said Dickinson. “I think the Marines had a great time with it.”
The first game was Operations against Marine Aircraft Group 12, in which MAG-12 took down Ops with what seemed to be little effort.
The second game found Combat Logistics Company 36 falling to Marine Aviation Logistics Squadron 12 in double overtime.
The third game was a hard-fought battle between MWSS-171 and MAG-12, in which MWSS-171 came out with an improbable finish to earn a chance at the championship.
“I thought it would be tough. The sport seemed kind of weak, but once you got out there and pushed that big ball around it got really tough,” said Johan Rojas, a player for MWSS-171.
The games were only 10 minutes long, but every two minutes, play was stopped and restarted at midfield after a 30-second break.
For defending players it was a relief but for the attacking offense it was nearly enough to break their spirit.
“You really have to be on your toes and be moving all the time,” said Rojas.
Any waste of time could result wasted efforts if the ball is reset at midfield.
“Our strategy was to keep the ball up in the air as much as possible. If you can keep it up in the air, the taller people can control it without interference from the shorter people,” said Rojas.
It was a bold strategy that proved to be effective as MWSS-171 cruised past MALS-12 for the championship and the additional 10 points toward the Commander’s Cup.
With only the Gladiators Cup remaining to take place Nov. 6, the Commanders Cup Challenge is still up for grabs with Ops in first place with 351 points followed by MALS-12 with 331, and barely trailing is MWSS-171 with 329.