[ejstuart]

This article appeared in the Manitowoc (WI) Herald Times on 10/17/03

For some background, Green Bay Preble and Manitowoc Lincoln are Division 1 schools (the division with the schools with the highest enrollment). Also, this conference cherry picks their center officials, so they are supposedly the best in the area...


*****
Preble upends Lincoln in soccer

By PAUL KEUP
Herald Times Reporter

MANITOWOC — It was called the “best game of the season” for the Lincoln High School boys soccer team, but that performance was marred by a variety of events.

First and foremost, the Ships lost, 2-1, to Fox River Valley Conference front-runner Green Bay Preble on Thursday at the 35th Street Field in the regular season finale for both teams.

The match, though, featured two questionable red cards, three yellow cards and a game-winning goal on a controversial penalty kick.

“We played our best game of the season,” Lincoln coach Guido Lenaerts said. “We controlled the game, but the scoreboard doesn’t reflect that.”

Lincoln’s Bee Vang drew the first yellow card midway through the first half for unsportsmanlike behavior, and the Hornets led 1-0 at halftime.

About 15 minutes into the second half, Preble’s Ted Cormier received a red card (automatic ejection) for excessive foul language, although it didn’t appear his remarks were directed toward an official.

The Hornets (8-9-5 overall, 4-1-2 FRVC) received a yellow card with 11:31 left in the match, when Kevin Fitchett was called for a trip from behind on a player away from the ball.

Nonetheless, Lincoln still played with an 11 to 10 player advantage, and the Ships tied the game at 1 on a goal by Jerad Meyer with just under nine minutes to play.

Neal Auchter’s shot snuck through the legs of the Preble goalie Grant Fernstrum, and Meyer collected the rebound and scored.

Manitowoc (7-12, 2-5) continued its heavy attack on the Hornets’ defense, and it appeared the Ships would muster the winning goal.

But they never did.

Auchter, Manitowoc’s senior sweeper, went up for a loose ball against Fernstrum and the two collided in mid-air.

Auchter was immediately called for a red card, and his ejection brought the game back to 10-on-10 with 6:43 remaining.

The red card drew an emotional objection from Auchter and the Manitowoc bench, but the match went on.

About a minute later, the Hornets were awarded a penalty kick for a trip in the box. Preble’s Jordan Gindt scored with a shot to the left side of the net because Manitowoc goalie Brian Meyer went the opposite way.

“I feel bad for Manitowoc,” Preble head coach Chris Becker said. “That’s a hard loss; an unlucky loss. It’s hard when the referees decide the game and not the players.”

With Preble leading 2-1, Manitowoc tried valiantly to tie the match in the final minutes but to no avail.

The referees weren’t done yet, however, as Ships’ senior defender Joseph Maretti was given a yellow card with 5.2 seconds left for dissent.

The extra-curricular activities spoiled what was an otherwise close match.

“You can always pull a yellow card first and tell them if they do it again it’s a red card,” Lincoln head coach Guido Lenaerts said. “It was a little too quick for red cards on both sides.”

The Preble sideline agreed.

“I’ve never been associated with a game like this,” Becker said. “Both red cards could’ve easily been yellow. That’s my opinion, but they know the rules better than I do.”

Skylar Franz, who is the Ships’ co-captain along with Meyer, was also disappointed in the officiating.

“I don’t think the red cards were (justifiable),” Franz said. “I couldn’t believe it.”

Not only does a red card result in immediate ejection, it also means the player must sit out the next game.

That means Auchter, a senior, and Cormier, a junior, will miss their respective team’s regional opener next week.

“I feel bad for (Auchter),” Becker said. “This could’ve been his last game.”

The Ships won’t know their first-round opponent until this weekend, but they undoubtedly will be pumped up to make sure Auchter gets to play again.

And they can take some solace in the fact they gave the Hornets all they could handle.

“It was motivating,” he said. “This was a big game against a good team. It shows we can play with better teams.”

NOTES: Preble scored its first goal about 10 minutes into the match on a free kick by Kelly Snyder. The free kick was awarded because of an obstruction call, but Lincoln’s Skylar Franz was hurt before the call. The Ships’ co-captain, though, tried to get up and the referees didn’t call an injury timeout. Snyder took his free kick from the right side of the arc on the 18-yard box, and it sailed into the left side of the net. “Skylar couldn’t make up his mind if he was okay or not and it led to some confusion,” Ships’ head coach Guido Lenaerts said. “The rule is that if you are hurt to just sit down and the refs will stop the game.” … Lincoln out-shot Preble 9 to 6 in the second half. … Manitowoc’s Neal Auchter left the game after suffering an injury with 26:39 remaining in the game, but he returned a few minutes later.
*****

And no, I wasn't the official for this game.