Story and photos by Brittany Carlson
Assistant editor
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The first unit-level intramural soccer game of the season proved one thing: participation is key.

In a Conference A game May 8, U.S. Army Medical Department Activity took down Garrison Command 3-0 by playing to their biggest strength: sheer numbers. While the MEDDAC team had 19 players available — enough to give everyone a sub in the nine-on-nine match, Garrison Command had only 10 players, one of which was injured early in the match.

“Since we have a lot of people here, we’re going to make sure all of our players are fresh, all the time, so lots of subbing — that’s our strategy,” said Dedra Gallagher, MEDDAC team captain, before the game.

That strategy paid off. Garrison Command held its own during the first 20-minute half, keeping the score 0-0, but a lack of subs took its toll. In the second half, MEDDAC scored three goals to clinch the match.

“It was unexpected because … a lot of these people were (having their) first day out here with us, and they actually worked really well together,” Gallagher said. “If we get continued participation like this, I think we have a really good shot at bringing home the first place title. If not, that’s OK — it’s still a lot of fun.”

MEDDAC player Kirk Eggleston added that the number of subs definitely gave his team an advantage.

“We’ve got some guys with some talent, and we had enough guys out here that we could sort of wear them down as the game went on,” Eggleston said. 

However, “We give Garrison a lot of credit, because they played with barely enough players and had some injuries,” he added.

Adding to the manpower burden for Garrison Command, teams had nine players on the field instead of traditional 11-man teams, forcing each player to cover more area.

“We’d be a little more competitive with fresh legs,” admitted Jeff Cornuet, Garrison Command keeper and team co-captain. “MEDDAC came out and played a good game. But these guys ran their hearts out tonight and they played a big game, as far as I’m concerned.”

Cornuet, who has been playing intramural soccer her for nine years now, also considered the nine-on-nine format a good learning opportunity for his team.

“It’s a little tougher to play, but it opens the field up, and when we’ve got people that are trying to learn how to play the game, it gives them more area to operate (in).”

Larry Keeton, the other Garrison Command team co-captain, isn’t concerned about the loss. He’s focused on the Commander’s Cup soccer tournament, which comes after the intramural season, and the fact that Garrison Command currently has a104-point lead in the overall Commander’s Cup competition.

“This is just a tune-up for (the) Commander’s Cup— that’s all it is. We possess the commanding lead, and this is just the prelude,” he said. 

There are benefits to winning in the intramural league, however, according to Danny Howell, sports specialist for Family and Morale, Welfare and Recreation. Seeds for the Commander’s Cup tournament will be based on where teams finish in the leagues.

This year, there are 14 teams playing intramural soccer — seven in each conference, he said.

“Each team will play six games; it’s round robin,” Howell said. “The conference winners will be determined by one-loss record. If it’s a tie — say two teams are 5-in-1 —then whoever won the match between those two teams is declared the conference champion.”



Other scores:

In other Conference A games:  played May 8:— The 5th Engineer Battalion defeated the 193rd Brigade Support Battalion, 3-2;— The 94th Engineer Battalion picked up a forfeit victory.— The 193rd Brigade Support Battalion defeated MEDDAC, 3-1;— Garrison Command defeated the 5th Engr. Bn., 2-1; — The Marine Corps Detachment picked up a forfeit win.In Conference B games played May 9:— The Navy Detachment defeated Staff Judge Advocate, 1-0;— The 364th Training Squadron, Air Force Detachment 1, defeated the 35th Engineer Battalion, 1-0;— The 31st Engineer Battalion beat the 787th Military Police Battalion, 3-0.