Marine Corps Base Quantico, Va. – A battle between two titans were held at Butler stadium on June 25. A soccer match between Marine Corps Base Quantico and the British Royal Army Signal Corps tested the measurement of skill and caliber between the two teams and resulted in a devastating outcome for one of them. The Quantico team had recently finished a season in Fredericksburg while the British Royal Army recently defeated both the Navy and Pentagon Soccer teams.

Before the match, Quantico strategized and decided to play with a trap-style game plan to compensate with the British Royal Army’s speed. This defensive plan gave the defenders the ability to regain access to the ball effectively without too much interference from the opposing players. In theory, this style of play would have prevented the opposing players from gaining possession of the ball, but in practice, the speed and experience of the British Royal Army proved to outpace the game plan from Quantico.

During half-time, Quantico team mid-fielder Diego Patino said, “The British team is a lot more organized. They constantly scream to communicate with each other. They are letting their teammates know what is going on around them. They play and communicate aggressively, and because of these reasons, we are not in their league.”

Quantico team center-mid Alan Blackwood said, “They play with great discipline. I think Quantico is more about each individual player as opposed to working as a whole. In our team, each player has their own way of playing, because of this setup; we are at a steep disadvantage.”

Blackwood continued, “To illustrate, when the British players are closing in our goal, they end up sharing the ball a lot. They prefer to pass instead of immediately scoring and this catches our goal keeper off guard. Their level of experience and knowing how to work with each other surpasses ours.

The final score resulted in a loss for Quantico with a far-reaching score of 12-0. Post-game, all players from both teams shook hands and took a picture together.

British team striker Jack May stated, “We’ve been playing together for four years. Because of our experience together, we really know each of our teammate’s strengths and low-points. We know what makes each other respond and use this on the field. Because of our time spent together, we can really adapt and change up our playing style on the field and use this to beat the other team.”

Post defeat, Blackwood concluded by saying, “The pace of this game was a huge difference from previous games we’ve played. This was a good eye-opener and great learning experience, especially playing with a team that really exceeds our level of finesse.”