Stop Calling Cheap Penalties

I don't know how others feel, but it seems to me there are too many cheap, bad penalty calls in women's college soccer. (Of course this may be true in soccer--period!) There are too many officials who blow the whistle and point every time the offensive player takes a tumble in the box--I see it a lot, too much. There are (good) officials who understand the import of a penalty call and thus refrain from making the call unless the foul is obvious--but they seem to be in the minority, no?

Yesterday a terrible penalty call in the second half of a tourney game proved decisive. Penalty kick made; final score is 1-0. Of course it was made worse by the fact that the losing side was totally dominant in the game, but that's ultimately not the point. Offensive player dribbles the ball into the left side of the box; she is challenged on the run by defensive player. Offensive player initiates contact with her shoulder; defensive player counters with her shoulder--and perfectly, meaning she did not use excessive force; both players fall down; penalty called. Total BS. It was a perfectly average soccer play and a perfectly obvious no-call--and the official ruined the game with a cheap, ridiculous call.

I wonder if the problem is that we see officials blow their whistles and make iffy foul calls, outside of the box, all the time, especially when a player hits the turf. But it rarely results in a goal. When the same thing happens in the box and a foul is call, the decision often decides the match. I think a lot of these officials have got to be more judicious when it comes to contact in the box. Yea, I am venting because a team I follow was screwed--but I see cheap penalty calls in a LOT of games.