9-20-2006
{"HeadlineLight14"/}Who’s keeping score at Soccer Hall?
I watched the Edmeston boys soccer team play during the first weekend of the recent Daily Star Hall of Fame Cup Tournament at the Soccer Hall of Fame. That Sunday was a beautiful day with wonderful soccer but no scoreboards.
I thought the $7 admission fee was a little steep for family members following their local teams. We all complained because, although the scoreboard was all lit up, nobody was there to keep score.
Some schools came from great distances to compete. It seems only fitting that the Soccer Hall should have shown a better reception to all of us.
{"Body Text Bold"/}_ Eleanor Vibbard, Edmeston
{"HeadlineLight14"/}Cooperstown boys did show mercy
The Daily Star’s secondary headline in the boys soccer roundup Tuesday read: "Redskins show no mercy in rout."
This is upsetting to my team and the community for the following reasons:
1, There was no one from the Star at my match; 2, The information the Star received came from me; and 3, I specifically explained the nature of game.
I was not excited about the score and, furthermore, I explained to the Star that I did several things to minimize the score. We did not try to run up the score.[an error occurred while processing this directive]
Our top scorer, Chris Gentile, had four goals and two assists. He played 12 minutes during the first half, 6 minutes of offense during the second half, and 10 minutes as a defense back. Banner and Conklin played less than half of the game and spent several minutes as defensive backs. I have 22 varsity players, and 11 substitutes played more than half the game.
When the score reached 7-0, the "subs" were instructed to shoot sidenet. All the goals scored after this were to the sidenet. When the score was 7-0, we went to three-touch soccer. When it was 9-0, we went to two-touch.
So, we did exercise mercy.
I also noticed that a player from another area team scored five goals in an 11-1 victory Monday. There was no mention of the winning team failing to exercise mercy, though. Therefore, I feel we were unfairly targeted in Tuesday’s editions.
I have been a soccer coach for 30-plus years and have the highest respect for this sport, whether my team wins or loses.
{"Body Bold Center"/}_ Frank Miosek, Cooperstown
Miosek is the Cooperstown boys soccer coach and is a former Daily Star Coach of the Year.۩