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Were the players accepting of the contact that was allowed? Were both teams playing physically? Was it mostly upper body contact? At the upper levels of play more of the pushing/shoving/holding is allowed and less of the kicking someone else in the feet/legs is tolerated. The big boys are expected to battle for the ball and position, but they are also expected to be skilled enough to control their kicks and challenges and not hit their opponents when going for the ball.
I was in Vegas working the club soccer regional for the past few days and haven't seen these matches on tape yet, but perhaps that will help explain some of the differences you perceived in the two games.
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