SC Soccer Forums SCSoccer.com Forums Boys Varsity Soccer CARDINAL NEWMAN v.s PINEWOOD PREP

BEAR,
I simply asked the question,"how many are returning".Not that anything we discuss here really matters, just curious.

Thing is, that question is really hard to answer. The starting line up and player positions has been somewhat dynamic. Over the course of the year, I think 8 or so of the returning players have started matches. Consistently, probably 5. Yesterday, 7 players with significant minutes. That's why I tried to explain it the way I did, not trying to be elusive.

A lot can happen between now and next year.

BEAR-

You think that every card PWOOD got was a good call? I did'nt think they were good calls when i was playing but after the game i watched a recording and my opinion of the ref. dropped even more. mabey two of the cards were good calls, others were ridiculous to say the least. And the the goal called back for CN was b/c it was an indirect kick, not an offside.

Allstar,

First, in the 2nd half, there was a ball that ended up over the goal line, cleared by a defender before reaching the back of the net, after an off side call. My response on that was to the CN poster who said they had 2 called back. It was the indirect kick that the entire stands knew about.

As for the cards, let me put it this way. I can understand the cards, but I don't know how the ref coded them, nor what he said to the players.

There was a double yellow given, 1 to PP and 1 to CN. At that particular time, the center had followed the play away, and the AR saw the after the play stuff between the two players. My opinion, good card to keep those two players from getting too involved and seeing red.

No question on the delayed restart, and he knew it when it happened.

There were two tackles in front of the PP bench. Both of those plays the PP player had cleats up. On one the tackle was perpindicular to the CN player and touchline, however, his lead leg was cleats up almost waist high on the attacker. Reckless tackle, and if he had made contact, could have easily been serious foul play, red. Similarly, on another tackle, the PP player was coming from in front of the attacking player, again, cleats up and reckless. Two different players, similar cards.

There was another card given, that could have easily been persistent infringement due to the number of fouls committed by that particular player throughout the game. In that case, the last foul doesn't have to warrant the card by itself.

I'm not sure what the other one was for, but persistent infringement would/could also make sense. That particular player had committed several pretty hard fouls in close succession. Again, the play when the card was given doesn't have to warrant a card by itself.

As I said in an earlier post, the card given in the second half to the CN player, central defender, could have been given about 10 minutes earlier on a direct push near the touchline, or the leading elbow on a header in the middle of the field, but he eventually got one.

So, knowing who the referee is, and his level of certification, having worked with him, having observed him at other times, and my ability to rationalize the cards he gave, yes, I think they were all good cards.

I think both teams will agree on this- it was an OVER-officiated game. The center-ref in particular seemed intent to bring the early minutes of the game to a standstill by calling every last little bump. He was calling it that way on both teams the whole game. We've all seen similarly-played games that had maybe 1 yellow card a team. This crew made it clear from the opening minute that this wasn't going to be one of those games. It got to the point where I think both teams played overly cautious soccer not knowing what might be called next.

As to the PKs, 2 of them (CNs and one of PWs)could have been ignored in a more loosely officiated game. They appeared to be the result of more or less incidental contact in the box where there was no pending shot on goal. But that last Pinewood PK came about because of pure desperation on the part of a Cardinal Newman defender who got burned and reached out and pulled the Pinewood forward down in the box. That one was a no-brainer and of course it sealed the victory for Pinewood.

Cardinal Newman has some very strong players and its easy to see how they would have physically dominated the other Columbia schools this year. But as impressed as I was with CN's strong legs, I didn't really see any crisp passes from them nor did I see much in the way of defense pressure on the ball. To be fair, Pinewood was not on their A game in those areas either. Add to the mix an over-active referee who apparently wanted to be the star, and the game was kind of ugly. The real star of the game, the ref's efforts notwithstanding, was Pinewood keeper JD Spearman. He was the difference-maker no doubt.

Congratulations to BOTH teams - who clearly played soccer at a level high above the rest of SCISA this year.

bear-
the first two cards u talk about are the two that i agree should be given. the little fight between the two players and one of the dangerous plays. The second dagerous play was a very bad call, both players went into the tackle the same way, cleats in the position u normally trap a ball, not in a dangerous position. As for persistent infringement, no player on the field was constantly fouling players. The player with the most fouls was a PP player and he certainly did'nt have a dirty game. Like the guy before me said, it got to the point where players were playing cautiously due to the constant babyish fouls.

The only additional thing to say with the "babyish" fouls is, it was clear the referee was calling a tight game. It's been said in several other posts over time, that the players need to be able to recognize that and play accordingly, which for the most part they did, resulting in what has been termed cautious play.

Nowhere have I said it was dirty play by any player, and it doesn't have to be to be persistent infringement.

It really doesn't matter at this point, the match was exciting and is over, with Pinewood being the 4 time SCISA State Champion.