11-21-2006
Shootouts aren’t the solution
ONEONTA _ Laurens boys soccer coach Dave Miller likened the shootout format used to decide who advances in postseason matches to, "breaking a tie in basketball by shooting free throws."
Lest anyone think Miller’s comment was sour grapes after the Leopards lost in a shootout, 5-4, in a Class D state semifinal to Colton-Pierrepont on Saturday, he said those words after his team’s 4-3 shootout victory over Poland in a state quarterfinal.
The shootout needs to go. Players taking shots from 12 yards against a goalie is no way to break a tie.
C-P coach Rod Thomas said Thursday _ two days before the semifinal _ he hoped the game would be decided in regular flow of play and not in a shootout.
After the shootout loss, Miller said, "That’s what we’re stuck with now."
Well, we’ve been stuck with this format for decades.
I’ve probably covered 10 of them over the years and not once have I heard the winning or losing coach say the shootout was a fair way to decide the match.
Usually, I hear: "You never want to win that way."
Or, "You never want to lose that way."
But that powers that be in soccer have done nothing the remedy what so many around the sport think is a problem.[an error occurred while processing this directive]
Here’s my solution:
Add two lines to the field _ 25 yards away from each goal extending from sideline to sideline. Call them the overtime lines.
Any shot taken inside those lines during overtime periods that the goalie has to save will count as a point. If a goal is not scored during the overtime periods, the team with the most points advances.
Under this format, the game is not changing. It’s still 11-on-11, but it forces teams to be more offensive.
Packing the box and playing for a shootout is no longer an option, so this format would likely identify the more talented team, which is what a tiebreaker should do.
Obviously, there are problems with this system.
I can already hear the arguments over whether a shooter was inside or outside the 25-yard line. Some will no doubt take issue with a game being decided without the tie truly being broken (though that’s what happens in a shootout). Others might say the strength of some teams is defense and this format forces them to play away from their strength.
I’d argue, though not perfect, it’s better than the shootout.
When Laurens junior Andrew Parsons showed up at the National Hall of Fame Soccer Campus on Saturday, he wasn’t there to score goals. He was there to prevent them.
Parsons did that as well as any player on the field Saturday, while filling in for senior James Warren, who was suspended for one game after being ejected in a state quarterfinal.
He marked the Colts’ Jeremey Dunning, the team’s leading scorer. Dunning was physical, but despite giving away probably 30 pounds, Parsons took all the hits and only allowed Dunning to take one quality shot, which Laurens goalie Aaron Laing saved with a dive to his
See CENTORANI on Page 13
right in the second half. It was the only time Laing was really tested all game, while Laurens probably had six or seven solid scoring chances it failed to convert in the 0-0 tie.
"We played with a lot of heart," Miller said. "As James (Warren) said the other day about Andrew’s abilities, he has a lot of confidence in him. It’s evident and for good reason, because he really stepped up."
But after all the quality work Parsons put in through 110 minutes of soccer, he was sent to take the penalty kick that could prolong or end Laurens’ season.
He had scored one goal all season. Unfortunately for Parsons, his shot hit the left post and caromed left.
Parsons dropped to his knees and put his arms over his head as the ball rolled away.
There’s something seriously wrong with a tiebreaker that puts a team’s season on the shoulder of one player who doesn’t specialize in scoring.
There has to be a better way.
Rob Centorani covers high school soccer for The Daily Star. E-mail him at rcentorani@thedailystar.com.
