Barksdale soccer team kicks Worlds

  • Published
  • By 1st. Lt. Anthony D'Errico
  • 608th Air Operations Center
BARKSDALE AIR FORCE BASE, La. --  The Defenders Cup was a month away. The soccer players of Barksdale Football Club were hopeful but battered after losing eight starters to injuries and seeing a month without a victory.

The tournament, held in San Antonio, Texas, is essentially the World Cup for the United States Armed Forces, and each year bases from across the nation send teams to represent military branches.

Entering the tournament, emotions were high. FC's first four games were sure things. However, they needed a high ranking in their group to advance. The first game pitted the team against Fort Bliss, a team which had already defeated them twice during the season.

FC came out with big hearts, strong will, and dedication and found themselves on the right side of a 4-2 victory. FC was awarded "goal of the tournament," as Staff Sgt. Jose Ortiz scored using one of the toughest technique in soccer, the scorpion kick. The momentum from the first win carried over to the following game against Fort Carson, leading to a 1-0 win.

Entering their last game of the stage, a win against Lackland was mandatory to secure a good position in the single elimination rounds. Unfortunately, they gave up one goal and lost. However, the six points coming out of group play earned the team a rank of 13th out of 40 teams, a feat never accomplished by Barksdale FC. 

Heading into the single elimination rounds, coaches Simson and Olson made adjustments to the lineup and formations for a battle against Fort Leonard Wood. 
The foundation of FC's team was built upon its incredible defensive line, or as the team called it, the Defense of Death (DoD). Their DoD helped hold the game together as they won 3-1 and moved into the Sweet 16.

Their next game was against Dyess, who was ranked fourth. Growing injuries led to a scoreless tie and a shootout was called to decide the winner. FC's goal keeper, Staff Sgt. Juan Munoz, stopped two penalty shots while his team scored four, elevating the club to the elite eight.

With all of Group G still in the fight, FC played Lackland again, the team that had beaten them 1-0 earlier in the tournament. With grit and determination, FC gave them everything they had. After a tackle resembling one from a professional football game, the referee had no choice but to eject one of FC's starting forwards, leaving Barksdale with only 10 players on the field. Battling a powerful opponent and a player disadvantage, the pressure was intense to hold the 1-0 lead for the remainder of the game. FC stood strong and earned a spot in the final four.

Going into the final four, FC was the only all Air Force team left in the tournament, as well as the only team remaining with females. With one starter down due to red card, FC faced the defending champions, Fort Irwin.

As the site for the All-Army training team which trains year round for the tournament, Irwin fielded elite talent and an All-Army player. Despite red cards, blisters, an abundant amount of muscle relaxers and bloodshed, FC took the field with heads held high. 

As the game raged on, fatigue set in accompanied by frustration with calls from the referees. After losing another played to a red card, FC fell 1-3, setting up a rematch with Fort Carson, who Barksdale had edged out 1-0 early in the tournament. 

The players knew Carson would want revenge and would give them a physical, 90-minute match. FC also knew this may be the last time the same group of men and women known as Barksdale FC would be out on the field as the elite team of 2015. 
After all the sweat, blood and tears invested and the heart demonstrated by the 22 team members, FC was not going to go down easy. The battle was on.

As the relentless sun baked the stadium to a punishing 102 degrees, the players took the field one last time as Barksdale FC.

With their heads held high, bruises on their legs and bloody feet, FC battled hard, but fell 0-6.

A team which lost nine matches before the Defenders Cup and was not even expected to finish the first round of single elimination surprised everyone and finished fourth out of 40 teams and the sole Air Force team to make the final four.