A slow start, just like last year—but our soccer team still won the district championship

Our soccer team won the WK II district championship and qualified for the regional tournament. In the first game against our “longtime rival,” ASW Kirchhain, it soon became clear that it wouldn’t be an easy match for our team, which had been successful in last year’s state championship: Facing a physically strong team, Steinmühle relied on its good technique and positioning, took the lead with a goal by Jakob Reinhard, but then conceded two goals in the closing minutes. Due to lapses in concentration by the defense, the team let a victory that had seemed certain slip away.

The level-headed coach Michael Neirich, together with his assistant Leon Döringer, had a hard time lifting the players’ spirits for the next game. After Hinterlandschule Biedenkopf had come out on top against Kirchhain in their match, hope began to spring up again, and now the task for the final game was clear: a 2–0 victory over Biedenkopf was what was needed—that would be enough.

Thanks to excellent preparation by their coaches, our team put on a great performance against Biedenkopf, refused to be intimidated by a physically superior opponent, and fought selflessly until the final whistle. With goals from Jonas Pfalz (9b) and Jakob Reinhard (8c), the team achieved the desired 2–0 result and thus won the 2016 WK II district championship.

Congratulations!