When overtime was nearly...not?

So here it is.

Yesterday afternoon, after 80 minutes of soccer in the pouring rain, the Williamstown and Twinfield girls were knotted at 2-2. Time for overtime, of course. At every other high school soccer game I've been to in the past five years, it's an extra 10 minutes of sudden-victory soccer, followed by another 10 minutes of sudden-victory play if no one scores in the first 10 minutes. And, if someone does score, the game is immediately over.

Not so yesterday.

Twinfield scored 1:12 into the first overtime period, and the game should have been over right then and there. The officials insisted the game was to continue not only for the remaining 8:48 but for the entire next 10 minutes, too. What? Where am I? What am I watching? Who are these people?

With Twinfield ahead 3-2 after the first overtime, the officials gave both teams a five-minute break. I went up to where the fans were and spoke with a few, including Trojan girls basketball coach Deb Rathburn. Athletic Director Anthony Spencer, after a lengthy debate on the field with the officials, went inside to print the Vermont Principal's Association rule on soccer overtimes and a parent looked it up on her smartphone. 

While both teams continued to stand in the pouring rain, adults had to figure out the rules. The game was eventually declared over because Twinfield did win in the 82nd minute, but it shouldn't have gone to 90 minutes and there should've been no debate in the first place.

Twinfield won its first game by sudden victory in overtime on Saturday, and the Williamstown boys beat Twinfield in sudden-victory overtime on the other side of the hill yesterday afternoon.

Why were these officials thinking overtime was two 10-minute extra frames, regardless of when one team scores? It was slippery and cold and wet, why were these athletes put through more time? What if they had gotten hurt? What if someone scored after Twinfield did in overtime - would the game be appealed? Some things you can get back with an appeal, but an injury is not one of them.

Learn the rules before you officiate a game, regardless of the level of play. I just don't understand how the mixup happened in the first place.

-Anna Grearson

Comments

[Deb Rathburn]

Anna....you are so right!! All officials at all levels have to know the rules inside and out frontwards and backwards before they officiate a game. That was uncalled for, unsafe for all of the girls and crazy that a parent had to look up the rules and then read them to the officials! Both coaches needed to be more forceful and demand the rules be followed. Thanks for the article! Deb

[Deb Rathburn]

Nice article in the Argus this am, Anna! Thanks for the coverage. Are articles a day late because of where they are getting printed? When will they be printing back in Barre?

[Anna Grearson]

Thanks, Deb! YOU are so right! I am so glad nobody got hurt, but I bet there are some borderline sick girls in your school today from being out in that rain so long. I hope not!
The game stories will still be a day late for a while, but now that we're printed at Upper Valley Press, we may be able to get a later deadline sometime soon. The game stories are online the next day, and if you're a print subscriber, the website is free. We're still not sure when we'll be printing back in Barre - sometime next year we'll know.