Benp,
I understand you're not blaming the refs. You have spoken before about attending certification clinics and such. Have you read the 4 D's position paper concerning denying a goal scoring opportunity? Once read, you'll agree the red card issued was the right call. From my position, similar angle to the center referee, I couldn't see the foul either. Fortunately, there was a 3-man crew, and the AR was in the position to see the foul, and had the guts to call it. (number of defenders, distance to goal, distance to ball, and direction of play)
As for the first name basis of some of the refs. As Dain points out, some of the refs have refereed multiple times at PW, and some of the parents of PW players are referees and work with these same guys at other HS and youth matches.
Like you, I've seen better referee jobs, but the refs didn't really impact the game.
It was a good game, and I look forward to several more years of good games between us.
