FORT BENNING, Ga., (March 11, 2015) -- The 75th Ranger Regiment Team A won the Commander's Cup Preseason Soccer Tournament championship title March 5 at Doughboy Stadium.
75th competed against 3rd Squadron, 1st Cavalry Regiment, and won 4-2.
A competitive first half left both teams scoreless until 75th's head coach Jared Engel scored their first goal at the 5-minute mark and then scored again with 2:30 left in the half, putting 75th in the lead 2-0 at halftime.
Elyas Omer, 3/1 Cav's head coach, said 75th was able to take advantage after one of his key defenders, Felix Gbeze, was injured.
"As soon as he got hurt, (75th) started shooting and they scored," he said.
Although 75th walked out of the first half on top, their score didn't reflect the amount of shots on goal, with more than one of Engel's attempts hitting the goal.
"You just got to keep taking shots," he said. "Eventually one's going to go in."
In the second half, 3/1 Cav's Brobbey Ofori scored twice in a row and tied the score 2-2.
"We came back fast," Omer said. "They scored the first two goals and we scored two goals after that. Then we made minor mistakes (on) defense (and) basically, that's when they scored two more goals (on us)."
Engel scored 75th's third goal soon after 3/1 Cav's, and added their fourth goal in the last three minutes of the game, resulting in a 4-2 win.
"It's only preseason," Omer said. "We'll be back."
Engel said 3/1 Cav made some good plays, but he thinks his team countered well. The overall game tactic for 75th was ball control and pressure, he said.
"(It was) keeping pressure on the defense all the time," he said. "If they have to play defense the whole time, they can't play offense."
Engel said team communication was important.
"That's the biggest thing about the game," he said. "If you're not talking and there's no teamwork, you're not going to be successful whatsoever."
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