Football club represents Columbus at 2015 Defender’s Cup

  • Published
  • By Maj. Oscar Corredor
  • 14th Medical Operations Squadron Aerospace Medicine Flight Commander
COLUMBUS AIR FORCE BASE, Miss. --  Footballers from corner to corner of the United States flocked to San Antonio, Texas, from Sept. 4-7 to melee over the coveted Defender's Cup. 

Columbus' varsity soccer team, Columbus Football Club, was among the 40 teams participating in the 2015 Defender's Cup Soccer Tournament. The tournament is open to teams from all branches of the Department of Defense and without doubt, it is the premier military soccer event in the nation. 

Organized and hosted by Joint Base San Antonio-Lackland Air Force Base, tournament director Tech. Sgt.  Fred Koeller, 509th Medical Operations Squadron, welcomed more than 700 athletes Thursday night, Sept. 3, at the coaches' meeting held at JBSA-Lackland Gateway Club at which information about fields, rules and team brackets were distributed.  Columbus F.C.'s 19-player squad drew the lottery for the final make up of 10 groups with four teams each and was placed on Group "I" along with F.E Warren AFB, Fort Sill and Langley AFB. 

Opening game for Columbus F.C. was F.E. Warren AFB at the state-of-the-art Star Soccer Complex on the northeastern corner of San Antonio, Texas, on Friday and the game ended in a 0-1 loss for Columbus.  The team performed incredibly well considering it was their second game playing together as a team, and they held one of the toughest opponents in the cup to a one goal loss.  Games two and three on Saturday morning didn't go as expected though, and Columbus F.C. ended up giving up three goals versus Fort Sill for a 0-3 loss and one goal to Langley for a 0-1 loss. 

The team seeded at #40 for the first round of single elimination to be played on Sunday and drew the #25 seed, Langley AFB, for a rematch. However, this time the tables were turned on them and Columbus F.C. came out with a 3-1 victory, propelling them vs. last year's champions, Fort Irwin, in the early afternoon.   The game against Fort Irwin was critical for both teams with the score tied at 0-0 at the end of the half.  Columbus F.C. regrouped during the half-time break, talked about what needed to be done and came after Fort Irwin rock-solid but unfortunately, the Texas humidity and intensity of play was too much. The team "ran out of gas," which Fort Sill capitalized on to put three goals on the back of the net for a final 0-3 loss. 
 
The single elimination games continued throughout Sunday and Monday until Fort Sill defeated Hawaii in the final game (a repeat of last year's final). They lifted the Defender's Cup Trophy and were crowned the 2015 Champions.

Columbus F.C. extends its eternal gratitude to the Columbus AFB Spouses' Club for their financial support in these times of military budget constraints that allowed the team to pay for the majority of the tournament's entry fees, and Capt. Michael Pyles, 41st Flying Training Squadron, for providing the jerseys the team wore during the tournament.  The team also thanks the family members and friends that came out to support them during the cup.  While in San Antonio the team had the opportunity to attend a professional soccer game between the San Antonio Scorpions vs. Ottawa Fury F.C., visit the Alamo, walk the famous San Antonio River Walk and visit with old friends in the area.

For those interested in participating, the Columbus F.C. holds practices/scrimmage sessions on Tuesday, Thursday and Sunday at 6 p.m. at the soccer field in between the 14th Security Forces Squadron and the 50th Flying Training Squadron, and practices are open to everyone.  The team can be followed on its Facebook page: Columbus FC, or by contacting the coach, Maj. Corredor at oscar.corredor@us.af.mil.