Photo By Cpl. Angelo Sagum | The Christian Academy Japan Soccer Team, based out of Tokyo, pose for a photo during a...... read more read more
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Hailing from Tokyo, the Christian Academy Japan Knights boys’ soccer, won first place against the Yokota High School Panthers from Yokota Air Base during the Far East Division II Boys Soccer Tournament at Marine Corps Air Station Iwakuni, May 24, 2019.
Eight Department of Defense Education Activity (DoDEA) high schools from across the pacific, and one private high school from Japan competed in the Far East Division II Boys Soccer Tournament which lasted for three days.
During the first place match, the Knights fought aggressively against the Panthers in the first half, scoring one goal. The Panthers then scored by surprise with less than ten minutes left in the first half.
“We played against Yokota before and we won four to one, but today Yokota played tough,” said Joshua Mine, a forward for Christian Academy Japan.
Although the Panthers scored one goal, the Knights were determined to not let that get the best of them. They turned inward and began focusing on their strengths.
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“Although it was a challenge to help them find what they do well, nurturing that is one of the things that played a major role throughout the tournament,” said Keesh Kawaguchi, the Christian Academy Japan Knights coach.
In the second half, the Knights played smart with each player contributing in any way possible, from every player on the field, to every player on the bench shouting out words of encouragement.
Enosh Mutenda kept his cool and scored another goal for the Knights during the second half.
“I was telling my team how I don’t care about the outcome of the game or any of the goals,” said Kawaguchi, “how we build a team through brotherhood is what matter the most.”
With all the motivation from the team, Enosh Mutenda scored a third goal putting the Knights up three to one game with less than three minutes left in the second half.
The Panthers tried to catch up with just a short amount of time left, but unfortunately the game ended with a victory for the Knights, three to one.
“We just kept focused and stayed tight. It paid off in the end and we scored two more goals, even though we lost one,” said Mine.
Kawaguchi humbly shook hands with and showed gratitude to the opposing team by bowing to the audience after the match.
“We are very fortunate to come to an American military base and have a tournament like this,” said Kawaguchi. “It is not a usual occurrence just to be invited on base. I am thankful to Matthew C. Perry High School for hosting and inviting us and to other base schools for traveling here and joining. We hope to be back again and would want more tournaments like this to continue.”
| Date Taken: | 05.30.2019 |
| Date Posted: | 05.30.2019 20:40 |
| Story ID: | 324687 |
| Location: | IWAKUNI, YAMAGUCHI, JP |
| Web Views: | 207 |
| Downloads: | 0 |
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