OHSAA girls soccer investigation: Strongsville-Walsh Jesuit game ends in controversy

The OHSAA is planning to launch an investigation after a girls soccer regional final match between Strongsville and Walsh Jesuit ended in controversy last Saturday.

The game was played at Nordonia High School in Macedonia.

"We are going to investigate that situation and incident," said Tim Stried, OHSAA director of media relations. "When we do that its going to take time because we do have to collect reports from both schools involved and the officials."

The issue that started it all was caught on camera by Ohio Sports Net. A penalty kick with less than a minute to play led to furious coaches approaching game officials on the soccer field.

Several parents stormed the field to protest the game-ending call. Members of the Macedonia Police Department rushed over to diffuse the incident.

In 2019, 3News spoke to Scott Sandvick, who has been an Ohio sports official for more than 25 years. He recalled multiple times that he's had to make tough calls.

"I've been escorted out with police. I've had fans taken out with handcuffs by police," Sandvick said. While he understands that criticism comes with the job, that criticism is getting out of control.

"At the end of the day when someone loses, they want to say it's our fault. Virtually every game we do," he added.

After Strongsville won Saturday's game, two Walsh coaches were given a red card after the match was called. They now face automatic suspensions for the first two games of next year.

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[TheDjcarter]

Just one of those calls that without VAR is just a guessing game. Definitely looks like keeper gets the ball and offensive player never even has a shot at it once GK comes out, defender contact seems incidental as all three come together but ref is just going to see a bunch of contact and award the PK. In professional levels the GK is given ALOT of latitude when they come for the ball at these levels seems alot more emphasis is on safety and dangerous plays.

[ashs.]

A few comments on the comments: I find it interesting that most commenters choose to discuss the substance of the call by the official rather than the actual investigation discussed in the news report (e.g., the conduct of coaches and parents). Rick K, I think you're the only one, and kudos to you.

When you invoke terms like "VAR" and "I just watched Brazil/Serbia", you've lost the sauce. Apples and oranges comparison. High school soccer is seen as an extension of the classroom, and educational experience. The pre-match coin toss in a high school match, unlike in a club match, makes specific mention of this (or should). Players in high school are held to a classroom standard, because the field is another opportunity to learn and grow. It is not a gladiator's ring for overgrown man babies to rage against young men and women who officiate those games. The man in the middle of this match, much like his colleagues around the country on any given day, work hard to make the best call they can at any given moment. IFAB Laws of the Game Law Five gives referees wide latitude to determine what they see. "In the opinion of the referee" is a common refrain you'll see on official reports when denoting whether a foul occurred. It denotes a benign and humility-filled objectivity that is lacking in most. As it should. This referee, like most, could care less about the outcome of the match.

Maybe parents should also care a little less about their son's or daughter's match outcomes. Instead, teach them the values that come with team sports: 1.) hard work, 2.) ethic, 3.) consistency, and 5.) teamwork. Also, maybe emphasize that bad things will happen. Things will not go your way. You will disagree with people in your life, and those people may have decisionmaking power over you. Your character is revealed by how you react.

Do you think the dad who rushed the field thought about how his actions would affect how his daughter chooses to deal with adversity? Authority? How about the coach who made the game about himself rather than his players? What lesson did he achieve in behaving that way? What lesson did he share with his players?

I do hope all involved benefit from this situation: actions have consequences. People should be punished, suspended, banned games. Nonetheless, in the absence of physical violence or a crime, all should be given a chance to learn from these mistakes. Show their kids they can do better, and improve. They and we owe it to our kids.

- 25+ USSF/NFHS/NCAA soccer referee, parent, player, and coach

[rickk]

As a coach, prior player, dad of a daughter whom played high school I get all the positions. Go back to the original video, the keeper gets the ball, but the player also goes down. As a referee it’s a perception thing, take 10 people and have them watch a video of other teams. Every person believes we’re right, it transfers to our kids even though we don’t think it does! Whether your the coach, the parent, the referee, or the kids on the field. If we want to eliminate referees maybe we should do that and decide months after who wins and loses. This is about respect, as soon as we lose that, we’ve lost it all! It shows up in our schools, we see parents and kids shooting others at sports events. Are you people idiots? You can drive down any street without being recorded. So you believe ya go and shoot up rivals? We wonder why our kids are such a mess right now? People, stop living in the past and with hatred in your hearts, screaming and yelling does nothing except make sh-t worse! Walking onto a pitch, playing field and or court, you should be sent home and banned from sports events! Sorry, I’ve never in my life seen it as bad as it is now, please stop!… There’s a place for things, at a game, after a game, there’s no room for it anywhere. Go home and think before you act, because it’s a good way to end up in prison! There’s no need for this
sh-t in sports, period!……