MARINE CORPS AIR STATION IWAKUNI, Japan -- Inter Milan and Platypi, station youth soccer teams, battled it out at the Matthew C. Perry High School soccer field here Sept. 22 during the 2011 youth sports soccer season 13-15 year-old age group.
Both teams proved and advocated their defense as the final outcome was a tie score, 0-0. “I wasn’t expecting a scoreless game,” said Saddam Ahmad, Inter Milan coach.
The two teams came onto the field with determination from the beginning as Inter Milan took control of the ball first.
Inter Milan maneuvered down field to come within striking distance of the goal. Several Platypi players swarmed the goal, forcing Chancellor C. Gardiner, Inter Milan forward, to sail the ball over the net.
The Platypi quickly rebounded after the ball was thrown back in.
They attacked, doing their best to wear down Inter Milan, passing the ball back and forth before attempting to score. Justin R. Hill, Inter Milan goalie, blocked and denied the Platypi the chance to score.
Inter Milan’s biggest strength seemed to be in the number of players compared to the Platypi, substituting all their players every few minutes.
“We definitely had way more kids than the other kids,” said Ahmad. “We were pretty fresh. I also wanted to make sure that all my kids got a chance to play and not get set in one (position).”
Several times throughout the match, both teams were flagged for attempting to kick the ball back into play as it went out of bounds.
“We got called on that a couple of times,” said Ahmad. “We’ve got to keep both feet in.”
Both teams continued to attempt to score, but were denied the opportunity by the fierce dedication of both teams’ goalies.
“Our defense definitely stopped a lot of shots,” said Edgar A. Castaneda, Platypi coach.
Several times throughout the game, both goalies swatted, dived and jumped to deny the other team a score.
“Our (goalie) did great,” said Castaneda. Coletta stopped 10 to 12 shots straight at the goal, so defense was our key point today.”
As the sun set, the two teams continued to fight for possession of the ball.
“My mentality was just, ‘save everything so my offense can at least score one,’” said Michael N. Coletta, Platypi goalie.
Both hoped to land a blow to the other team’s defensively steady goalies, but neither could.
“I was just trying to stop everything out there,” said Coletta.
The two teams are slated to play each other again as the season progresses.
Both teams proved the old saying, “defense wins games,” true for this game. It remains to be seen if it will prove true when they lock horns again.