What a tough year for SMA soccer. The best player doesn't play because of some misplaced loyalty to a club team. The next best player is only able to play the second half of the year because of complications from an injury that caused her to miss all of last year. Then two forwards have season ending injuries. On top of all that, they don't have a GK and have to move talented player into goal. All of that results in a team that was coming off two consecutive state semi appearances, and in both losing to the eventual champion. A team that was definitely favored to get back to the semis again fighting for their playoff life. The record this year, wasn't good with two losses in OT two other 1-0 losses and a 0-0 tie and a 1-1 tie. Yet, life remained until this:
The high school I support is St. Mary’s Academy (SMA) and it
has a huge Kentucky connection. The
Sisters of Loretto founded SMA in 1864 and the Mother House of the Sisters is
in Nerinx Kentucky. I won’t go into all of the wonderful
attributes of SMA, but it is that :wonderful.
Did I tell you the nickname is the Wildcats?
Did I tell their colors are blue and white?
Anyway today the Varsity Soccer team was playing their arch
rival Kent today in a game that essentially decided who made the playoffs. SMA has had a very difficult season with some
severe injuries greatly affecting the ability to score. Despite SMA being all
over them, Kent scored in the first half because of a simply terrible non call.
In the second half SMA continued to more or less dominate and just missed scoring
three or four times. With 15 minutes
left the game was correctly stopped because of lightening. Amazingly the officials called the game after
24 minutes because there was a bolt of lightning within the proscribed area at
the 22 minute mark and since they would have to wait 10 minutes from the 22
minute mark and that would take them past the 30 minute delay allowed by the
rules.
When I saw a ref get into his car and begin to leave the
parking lot I stopped him and asked why have you called the game? He explained what I wrote above. I said, are you aware that you have just decided
the outcome of a game between arch rivals and a game that determines which
makes the playoffs? He said, it’s CHSAA’s
rule (Colorado High School Athletics Association) and we have no choice. I said, a lot of people throughout history
have made really dumb decisions by not using judgment and following rules. He said, we had no choice and drove off.
I truly hate folks like that.
Oh yes, from the 22 minute mark there was no lightening and by 30
minutes the skies were typically Colorado beautiful. The game could have been restarted in
complete and absolute safety. Remarkably
the remaining refs were going to start the JV game and then they probably
thought, oh that would really look bad and called it as well.
Did I tell you the Mother House is in Nernix?
Did I tell you their nickname is the Wildcats?
Did I tell their colors are blue and white?
Come on Big Blue Nation, send an email to pangelico@chsaa.org. Paul is the Commissioner of CHSAA and
politely ask him to correct the injustice to SMA. Tell him where you live in Kentucky and that
since SMA are Wildcats and the Mother House is in Kentucky, they are part of
the BBN.
Won’t do any good, but
it will be fun and it might cause a stupid organization to review a stupid
rule.
