Shorthanded Watauga dropped by Alexander Central, 4-3, in OT

September 25, 2023

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Lade Oguntoyinbo has a dramatic shot on goal, this one turned back by the Alexander Central goalkeeper. Photographic image by David Rogers

By David Rogers. BOONE, N.C. — Even with one leg stuck in a proverbial bucket of cement for more than three quarters of regulation time, Watauga Men’s Soccer battled valiantly to push the Pioneers’ Northwestern Conference match vs. Alexander Central to overtime before succumbing, 4-3, on Sept. 25 at Jack Groce Stadium.

BONUS PHOTOS AT BOTTOM OF ARTICLE (click on any image for slideshow mode)

All photographic images by David Rogers

It was a challenging night for the Pioneers, to be sure. They had to play a man down after a controversial “red card” was shown to backline defender Riley Cook early in the first half. The referee initially showed a yellow card but after conferring with a sideline official changed his call to a red card. The officials explained to High Country Sports at halftime, that the card was awarded for “denying an obvious goal scoring opportunity.” They clarified that when a defending player effectively “takes out” an attacking player when the only other defender is the goalkeeper, the rule (Law 12) applies.

After the game, Watauga head coach Josh Honeycutt acknowledged the rule, but insisted that it was wrongfully applied in this instance.

“I’m not sure it was an obvious goal-scoring opportunity because nobody had possession of the ball, yet,” said Honeycutt. “I see the argument. I get it, but I think the referee in the middle called it right (the first time). He gave the yellow not knowing whether it was an obvious goal-scoring opportunity or just a loose ball. The side ref overruled him and said she had a better view. He changed his mind (in awarding the red card). I completely disagree.”

Because this proved to be the critical turning point in the match, High Country Sports needed to know more. Quick research led to looking up Law 12 online at U.S. Soccer and its related website, SoccerRefereeUSA.com. Our review suggests that the rule may have been misapplied for other reasons, too. Honeycutt may have a legitimate criticism.

**As explained by SoccerRefereeUSA:**

In order for a player to be sent off for denying an “obvious goal-scoring opportunity,” (all) four elements must be present:

- Number of Defenders — not more than one defender between the foul and the goal, not counting the defender who committed the foul
  - AUTHOR’S NOTE: This element appeared to be true.
- Distance to goal — the closer the foul is to the goal, the more likely it is an obvious goalscoring opportunity
  - AUTHOR’S NOTE: The alleged foul occurred roughly halfway from the nearest goal post to the sideline, an estimated 20-30 yards into the field of play (well outside the penalty box). It is a judgment call as to whether the “distance to goal” element was present. Watauga would argue that it occurred too far away from the goal to be fairly applied, Alexander Central would likely say it was close enough.
- Distance to ball — the attacker must have been close enough to the ball at the time of the foul to have continued playing the ball.
  - AUTHOR’S NOTE: It appeared the attacker and the defender were both in pursuit of the ball, shoulder to shoulder, with neither having yet gained possession.
- Direction of play — the attacker must have been moving toward the goal at the time the foul was committed.
  - AUTHOR’S NOTE: The players were pursuing the ball straight downfield, not yet angling toward the goal, directly, from this reporter’s view.
- If any element is missing, there can be no send off for denying an obvious goal-scoring opportunity. Further, the presence of each of these elements must be “obvious” in order for the send off to be appropriate under this provision of Law 12. (emphasis added)
  - AUTHOR’S NOTE: Given that not all of the four elements were obviously present, we would contend that Law 12, in this case, was inappropriately applied. In our interview with the officials at halftime, they acknowledged that the foul was not vicious or flagrant, just that the goal-scoring opportunity had been denied with only the goalkeeper available to defend a scoring opportunity taken.

In filing our report on this game, we have spent extra time in discussing Law 12 and its application because it was a critical turning point in this key Northwestern Conference matchup between two conference championship contenders, with a lot on the line. Our analysis will not change the outcome, but as a result of the red card Watauga was forced to play almost the full match a man down and had to make changes to its defensive formation as well as to the team’s attacking strategy in order to try and manage or counter the Cougars’ extra man advantage — whether or not Law 12 was applied appropriately.

Here is an interesting sequence of images, showing a dramatic defensive stop by Alexander Central, from Watauga’s shot by Jossue Galan to AC defender Christian Arroyo’s clearing save as the ball is about to enter the goal.

With the advantage in numbers, Alexander Central scored two more goals in the first half, taking a 2-1 lead into intermission. Thanks to a brilliant, powerful goal by the Pioneers’ midfielder Thomas Moss late in the second half to make the score 2-2, the game was forced into overtime: two, 10-minute halves. From his midfielder position, Moss stormed into a melee some 20 yards out from the goal and ripped the shot past the goalkeeper’s right side.

On a cross off the foot of Ben Myers, Lade Oguntoyinbo laced a go-ahead goal from the left front of the net to put the shorthanded Pioneers up, 3-2, but the Cougars manufactured a couple of goals in each overtime period and played steady defense the rest of the way to craft the 4-3 win. To his credit, the Alexander Central goalkeeper Ethan Holdren had to fashion some spectacular saves to preserve the Cougars’ win.

Another interesting sequence, involving Thomas Moss (19)… Sliding tackle by AC defender Eli Kerley — or tripping foul?

One aspect of playing a man down are the likely increased shot opportunities by the opponent, in this case Alexander Central. While allowing four goals, the Pioneers’ senior goalkeeper Kyle Painter tallied 20 saves on the night, facing a barrage of shots by the Cougars.

Soundbites from post-game interview with head coach Josh Honeycutt:

“I told everyone, especially the midfielders, after we went a man down that it was going to take everything they have. It was going to take a lot of work. That’s why we (stress) fitness. That is why we put in the work at practice. We want our fitness to be at a high level so that no matter what situation we are in we are able to compete… All of our guys put in an unbelievable effort.”
“I am tired of poor officiating. I really wish we could get some officials who could keep control of the game and call it both ways. They scored a goal off of a deflection when the guy was offsides, but the official took our goal away (under the exact same circumstances). There is no consistency… If one is a goal, the other one is a goal. You have to be consistent.”
“Like South Caldwell, Alexander Central is much improved. It is a much better conference now, which is a great thing for our sport. We are competing at a much higher level with our conference schools. We may not have given Alexander Central our best tonight, especially being a man down early in the game, but I give them and their coaches credit for putting together a solid team.”
“Thomas Moss is a phenomenal player and he brings a lot of energy all the time. Some of the guys do, some of the guys don’t and that is frustrating for me because that is what our program is about: energy and effort. Thomas has one of those motors that there is no question when you get him on the field. It is all the energy. He’s getting in on tackles. He is winning the extra balls. He is doing the extra things that make a big difference.”
“Being down a man, we had to figure out a way to create some more opportunities. Instead of having Mike and Curtis as our outside midfielders, we pulled them back and told them they must defend, but they also had to get forward to give us numbers (in attacking situations) I felt like it worked.”

Next up for the Pioneers is a road game matchup at Hibriten. With the loss, Watauga falls to 1-1 in Northwestern Conference play, 3-9-1 overall, counting an intentionally rigorous non-conference schedule.