I just wanted to tell you that there are threads devoted to the 2 semifinals and the finals of the WCC. If you want to talk about the semifinals and the finals please also go to those threads to talk about it. Thanks
sarcasm? Anyway - The final was an interesting match. The referee was awful, he called penalties that shouldn't have been, then looked the other way when players were tackled in the box. Fortunately, however, I don't think changed the outcome of the game. Congrats to Notre Dame. Hopefully, I'll get everything processed from the weekend and online by Tuesday evening.
I'm glad to see I'm not the only one who thought that. I thought ND's penalty probably should have been a free kick from the top of the box, UCLA's penalty was won by a blatant dive where the forward dropped as soon as she felt contact, and ND probably should have been awarded a penalty later when Chapman was tackled in the box (I wasn't sure what possessed Stone to say it was a clean tackle).
The ref is the head assignor out here in Northern California and has been reffing soccer for way too long (he did my games in high school!!). He was terrible then and is worse now. He talks to the players all the time and gets pissed off at you and then holds a grudge by calling fouls on you. I thought he called the game way too tight for most of it, and then for the last 15 of regulation he decides to let everything play. How is a player supposed to react? Here in Nor Cal we have real problems at the college games with terrible referees, but this guy controls it all and has his little mafia of refs and doesn't assign the new, younger refs (or the latin ones).
I have a sequence of 5 photos of the ND Penalty that show the entire play happening outside the box. But then later on I have a shot of Candace Chapman being clearly being chopped down in the box - but no call came. Go figure. He really called way too many fouls. Neither team was being cheap or dirty. He should've let more of the 50/50 and 60/40 contacts go - let the players play.
I thought the foul was inside the box... at least, the strongest contact when Thorlakson (sp?) got shoved in the back, that part was (albeit just) inside. Maybe some of the first contact was outside, but that shove in the back was definitely inside.
There's a nice picture from Andy in the "leading off" section of this week's SI, capturing the collision between Thorlakson and Henderson.
The three pictures that Andy posted from the collision were outstanding... http://www.ibiblio.org/footy/2004/1205_nd_ucla_ajm/web_04_ajm.jpg http://www.ibiblio.org/footy/2004/1205_nd_ucla_ajm/web_05_ajm.jpg http://www.ibiblio.org/footy/2004/1205_nd_ucla_ajm/web_06_ajm.jpg Here is the website with his pictures from the match: http://www.ibiblio.org/footy/ You deserve a little PR Andy!...
So unless this is some optical illusion this is clearly taking part in the "D". So how was this a penalty kick?
That last picture (6) is closest to the point where I thought the decisive shove occurred. Thorlaksen is leaning forward and her upper back is probably just inside the box at this point. I had a pretty good view of the play, I was sitting right about where the edge of the box is, 2/3 of the way up, and at the time, I definitely thought the shove was inside. Some/much of the contact was outside, but the part that had to be called was in fact inside.
I completely disagree. But there's no way the referee - from where he was standing - could have seen anything inside the penalty box except for where Thorlakson landed. It was a PK call that should not have been made.
I thought it shouldn't have been a penalty for Thorlakson and I was rooting for ND. I was sitting in the parking lot side seats, top row toward the end by the goal looking down on the penalty area where the foul occurred. IMO it was just outside of the penalty area. I remember mentioning to the guy next to me that I didn't think that should have been called a penalty.
Dunno if anybody noticed, but maybe the referee got a little covert assistance from the AR on whether to call it a penalty or a direct kick? While the referee may have been out of position to determine whether it was in the box or not, the AR should have been better-positioned (although probably not right on the line since I'd assume UCLA had at least one defender farther back in the penalty area).
I can't believe this discussion. No question both teams got pk's that were undeserved - no question ND also had a legit pk claim denied, either (IMO) UCLA missed theirs. Of course, UCLA was up because of one of the worst looking own goals I can remember (some sort of cosmic payback for the awful own goal they gave UNC last year?) I also felt like it was a just result (ND deserved to win) - but what about Thorlakson - she made a couple of 1v2 or 3 moves that were unbelievable (particularly late in the 1st half - when she beat two defenders and hit a way to open ND midfielder at the far post - she was so open she never really took a shot and that SHOULD have made it 1-0). And what about ND's organization on set plays - the Bruins misfired despite being really left open on several corners and free kicks (even though the announcers kept talking about ND's height advantage), especially on the corner following the missed PK. PS - you mean ref'ing was kinda random at an American soccer match? what a shock