Thoughts on the CBA loss
I'll start off by saying that the better team won this game. Seton Hall was too fast and too skilled for CBA. They had many more quality opportunities at the goal, although that was because once they took the lead, CBA could not advance the ball past all of the defenders they stuck in the back.
With that said, the first goal, at least from my vantage point, was the wrong call. C.J. Crooks did run into Steve Alessio, albeit unintentionally, knocked him down, and never touched the ball, a least not until Alessio lossed the ball after the collision.
What made the call tougher to swallow for CBA was that the sideline referee raised his flag to signal a foul, but the field referee looked to the other sideline official, who did not raise his flag. The field ref. did not ask the ref. that called the foul until after play had resumed, and at that point, they can't overturn the call anyway.
I spoke to the officials briefly after the game and the sideline referee that did not raise his flag said he saw Crooks' head make contact with the ball. If that's true, then the call is fine, but he could be covering for the whole group. I don't mean to accuse them of anything, but rather than admit that the field official made a mistake by not asking about the raised flag earlier, it would be much better for the crew to agree that the other ref. had a better view of the play and saw Crooks head the ball. Long story short, I didn't see Crooks make contact with the ball, so it looked like the wrong call.
Some of CBA's players took issue with the second goal, because they thought Crooks was offside. Unlike the first goal, I don't think CBA had a beef here. Crooks was even with William Liapis when Brian Maher sent him the ball.
If I have space for a notebook this Saturday, I'm going to touch on this artificial turf that they played on last night. A lot of schools have turf fields, but they are newer, softer, and more natural-playing surfaces. TCNJ has the old, original Astroturf surface, which is like playing on concrete. In fact, Jim Lannon said CBA practiced in the parking lot for a little while Thursday to prepare.
A few years back, TCNJ made sense because it provided a large venue with central location and a playing surface that can hold up in inclimate weather. Now, there are plenty of fields with artificial surfaces far more conducive to soccer that would make for more quality games. TCNJ still provides the best venue, turf-aside, because it is in a good location and can seat a lot of spectators. But let's hope they can change the playing surface sometime soon, because the players hate it and it makes the game very ugly.
I'll be back at TCNJ Friday to watch Manalapan play Clifton for the Group IV title. I'll preview it on the blog and in the paper, so keep and eye out.
With that said, the first goal, at least from my vantage point, was the wrong call. C.J. Crooks did run into Steve Alessio, albeit unintentionally, knocked him down, and never touched the ball, a least not until Alessio lossed the ball after the collision.
What made the call tougher to swallow for CBA was that the sideline referee raised his flag to signal a foul, but the field referee looked to the other sideline official, who did not raise his flag. The field ref. did not ask the ref. that called the foul until after play had resumed, and at that point, they can't overturn the call anyway.
I spoke to the officials briefly after the game and the sideline referee that did not raise his flag said he saw Crooks' head make contact with the ball. If that's true, then the call is fine, but he could be covering for the whole group. I don't mean to accuse them of anything, but rather than admit that the field official made a mistake by not asking about the raised flag earlier, it would be much better for the crew to agree that the other ref. had a better view of the play and saw Crooks head the ball. Long story short, I didn't see Crooks make contact with the ball, so it looked like the wrong call.
Some of CBA's players took issue with the second goal, because they thought Crooks was offside. Unlike the first goal, I don't think CBA had a beef here. Crooks was even with William Liapis when Brian Maher sent him the ball.
If I have space for a notebook this Saturday, I'm going to touch on this artificial turf that they played on last night. A lot of schools have turf fields, but they are newer, softer, and more natural-playing surfaces. TCNJ has the old, original Astroturf surface, which is like playing on concrete. In fact, Jim Lannon said CBA practiced in the parking lot for a little while Thursday to prepare.
A few years back, TCNJ made sense because it provided a large venue with central location and a playing surface that can hold up in inclimate weather. Now, there are plenty of fields with artificial surfaces far more conducive to soccer that would make for more quality games. TCNJ still provides the best venue, turf-aside, because it is in a good location and can seat a lot of spectators. But let's hope they can change the playing surface sometime soon, because the players hate it and it makes the game very ugly.
I'll be back at TCNJ Friday to watch Manalapan play Clifton for the Group IV title. I'll preview it on the blog and in the paper, so keep and eye out.
posted by Matt Manley at 7:28 PM
6 Comments:
TCNJ has a beautiful field-turf soccer complex on the other side of campus where a lot of college championship and tournament games are played on. Problem is, it does not have a lot of seating and is not lighted.
It really is a shame that most players will play one game on that slick surface and it will be their last.
Matt,
Which shore conference team has 12 shutouts, has never allowed more than 2 goals in any of it's 25 matches; and has only allowed 2 goals in any one match only 4 times this year?
It's Howell.
Howell should be ranked #1 in the Shore simply because they have the best record and they play pure soccer, not kick and run, score and clog up the box. Howell has two titles A-North and SCT and they outplayed and out shot Manalapan in all 4 matches. the overal goal differential this year is in Howell's favor 7 goals to 3.
So my vote is for Howell as the #1 Soccer Team in all statistics and for playing soccer, not some other game just to get a "W".
I hope you see it that way as well.
I would trade any amount of wins to win a state championship. In high school, that should be every teams goal. If manalapan gets a group 1V championship and has rings on their fingers, there's only 1 number 1 team in my mind. State tournament is where good teams have to win.
I could say that Manalapan has 15 shutouts this season or that they beat Howell for the most important title. But the simple fact is that Manalapan has a State Championship game Friday night and it doesn't matter where they are ranked by any newspaper. At the end of the season, both Manalapan and Howell (and plenty of other shore teams) will be putting up banners, and its those banners that will mean a lot more for the kids, coaches, etc than the rankings at the end of the year. That being said, I think Manalapan deserves to be #1 based on their solid season (although Howell was better) and their superb run during states (in which they are still playing).
Manalapan is still playing, Howell isn't playing. Manalapan and Howell came into the season right with each other and have jockeyed all year, with Manalapan coming out on top in the end, in a head-to-head game no less. You can't really go wrong with either of these teams, and it is a shame that they haven't gotten more respect outside of the shore. But in reality rankings come down to 1) who have you beaten and 2) what have you done lately, and Manalapan has the edge on Howell from those standpoints. They are #1, but both are stellar teams and probably top 10 in the state. Outside of the first games for both teams-- with both having key players injured-- Howell and Manalapan have lost only 1 game against any team not called Howell or Manalapan (CN vs Howell), so credit both these teams on a great season.
"So my vote is for Howell as the #1 Soccer Team in all statistics and for playing soccer, not some other game just to get a "W"."
Herm Edwards has a message for you.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IMk5sMHj58I
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