Girls Soccer: Header off corner, defense combine to boost Trojans

Zama’s Charlotte Callicott sends the ball toward the CAJ net. (Photo by Dave Ornauer/Stars and Stripes)

YOKOTA AIR BASE, Japan — Squinting through the rain, Charlotte Callicott lined up for a corner kick, hoping the ball would find Mikayla Ramon in front of the net.

Ramon headed Callicott’s kick into the net seven minutes into the second half. Zama left the rest to its defense and goalkeeper Samantha Kouzu-Ballard as the Trojans blanked Christian Academy Japan 1-0 in Wednesday’s Far East girls Division II Soccer Tournament final.

“I always try to play it to Miki,” Callicott said of Ramon, with whom she teamed for five goals this season off corner kicks. “I try to aim for her head or her chest. She’s the best one to score off those corners.”

Ramon said she tried to put her body in position to aim the ball at the net, where Knights goalkeeper Annabelle Rudd was waiting.