Nixa Eagles celebrate Lauren Moats (#6) goal against Parkview
C. DURATION OF GAME/OVERTIME PROCEDURES: All games will be 80 minutes in length divided into two equal halves of 40 minutes each.
5. In the event a game must be suspended because of conditions which make it impossible to continue play, the head referee shall declare it an official game if one complete half or more of the game has been played and a winner can be determined (score is not tied).
I have had conversations with all four coaches involved in the semifinals in the past two days regarding the possible outcomes. What I have come away with from those conversations are several opinions:
* A renewed respect for the coaches involved and their desire to allow the girls to play the game in a safe and competitive way
* While it took longer to make a decision then I would have liked, it points to the efforts that Mark Fisher made to give the Parkview girls the opportunity to play a second half of soccer. Kudos Mr Fisher!
* MSHSAA needs to provide an alternate model for playoff soccer.
While the ruling is clear, what it doesn’t take into account is the importance of playoff soccer. The Laws of the Game in fact don’t recognize anything but a complete game, noting that an Abandoned Match is replayed unless the competition rules provide otherwise. MSHSAA has modified the rules to meet a need they have identified but I would call on the Rules Committee to consider a rider for playoff soccer. Can we avoid this scenario with some patience and a modification of the rules to allow a full game be played. If a similar scenario plays out in June during the Final Four, would this be considered satisfactory? I don’t believe so. MSHSAA defines the Purpose of District and State competitions thusly:
There are two primary purposes that justify and cause district and state events to be desirable. Those purposes: to provide opportunities to demonstrate before the public the best knowledge, skills, and emotional patterns taught through a particular sport; to evaluate and compare the best of this teaching of knowledge, skills and emotional patterns among schools. Unless these purposes are primary, district and state athletic contests cannot be completely justified.
The decision is made and it’s time to move forward. That’s one of the unfortunate lessons from this experience. Should we come up with an alternative approach?
In my conversations with Head Coach Evan Palmer of the Nixa Eagles, he stressed that their approach has been in anticipation of playing the second half, including practice yesterday focused on Parkview’s strengths. He also noted as well the agreement he was part of to continue to the game. It is that agreement, among the Coaches and Site Administrator, to continue the game that MSHSAA has ruled against. The Eagles now need to focus on the winner of the game between Glendale and Kickapoo tonight.
For Head Coach Clint Nurnberg, an understanding of the rules and the decision that has been made is something he is still coming to grips with. He is facing it, along with his players, in a 2:00 pm meeting called to give him an opportunity to share with them the results and the reason for the delay in this posting.
He was philosphical, without spite, but he also shared the unfortunate aspects of the decision – the game was abandoned to ensure the safety of the players. With an agreement among the coaches it would be better to continue the game 24 hours later rather than attempting to wait out a significant storm, it was a decision based on logic. Can we prevent this scenario in the future and allow the game to be decided on the pitch over 80 minutes?
UPDATE:
Parkview girls’ soccer season hangs on appeal
State officially denies Parkview soccer team’s appeal
Viking Season Ends in 40 minute Loss
Lady Eagles declared winner of rain-shortened District 11 match
According to all media accounts and the account on the field, the offical did NOT declare the game and in fact, and in accordance with the rules that are not quoted in this article, it was suspended and rescheduled at the time of the delay.
MSHSAA has FAILED not only the players and but the game. This district championship, regardless of the outcome will be forever tainted.
Well said, Ole. It's unfortunate for all involved and I hope it's the impetus for change in the immediate future.
This ruling is a tragic lapse of sportsmanship. A decision was made at the site for the safety of the players and fans. If Nixa is beat in the final they will be remember this tournament for a hollow victory and a loss. Parkview only goes away with a ton of "What if.."
The District tournament is managed by an Athletic Director as an agent of MSHSAA. His work and the agreement of the coaches should not be overruled from afar.
As a fan I come away with a sick feeling caused by adults interfering with the precious moments of childhood.
Really MSHSAA…really?
MSHSAA is not alone. Overeducated administrators at most levels lose sight of the reason they are there is for the best interests of the students involved. The more educated the LESS
COMMOM SENSE they posses.
As one commented earlier that, "Parkview only goes away with a ton of "what if…" . There is so much more taken from this experence. The fact that we had the best season in years and a simple yes/no answer was what ended or season. And on top of that leaving the field wednesday night having no idea that it was going to be or last. And though we thought we would get to return this friday to finish a game that we deserve to play and finding out at school 4 hours before we played that we weren't going to get a chance to play at all…, all i can say, is that i think i can speek for my team when I say we are hurt.
Its sad when such an important game is decided by people who dont understand that to some of us, this was it. They treated this as just another problem that they needed to solve, but when really its so much more. what ever happened to the saying, "For the sake of the game"? And yes it was "adults interfering with the precious moments of childhood", let us play! Let us learn! Let us be kids for the little time we have left to be! Its a shame that a team with SO much potental got to show so little of what they could have.
No matter what way the game would have gone it would have been nice knowing the end, instead they leave my team and I with no sence of closure and forever pondering and looking back on this moment. This rule has greatly effected us and needs to be reconcidered in the near future.
Just know that you will see the Parkview lady vikings tonight at the Kickapoo vs Glendale game supporting both teams on what should be a great game and also looking for some last closure on the field.
I thank you for your reasonable and well-considered response to a very difficult situation that affected you and your teammates personally. It's a terrible way to have your season end and your high school career if you are a senior. You are focusing on what you can control now, and going forward, which is the best way to deal with adversity in my experience. Well done young lady!
No I am not a senior but I will miss playing with my senior team mates. But I would like to say thank you for everyones support in this whole situation, and a major thank you to the nixa team for standing behind us and wanting to play. I know there is a bunch of "nixa did this, and nixa did that" going around but as a player of the parkview team who sat in the two o'clock meeting today finding out the fate of the game we also found out that nixa has been nothing but right beside us this whole time. We shouldn't ponder forever on something that we cannot change. And deffinitly dont take it out on nixa when they had nothing to do with it. Thank you for your support but its time that we realize the facts and go see who will be representing our district in sectionals by attending the kickapoo vs nixa game tomorrow at 6:30!!!
GOOD LUCK LADIES!!!
Thank you for being so mature about this situation. I am really sorry to see that they can’t play the second half due to rules. But I hate all the finger pointing at a team who did nothing but want to play for the sake of the game. Thank you again for your support.
I for one am really sorry your season had to end like this. I'm a former player and can't imagine how frustrating that would be. It may not be any consolation, but from someone who has no vested interest in either team, you guys deserved a lot better than what MSHSAA did. And I'm very impressed with your attitude and support of your opponents. Classy individual = YOU!
Just saw this on KOLR 10—I'm curious—how did this even come about? Did someone call MHSSAA and try to push this through? Why would they step in when the head ref and all the coaches agreed to the arrangements? I believe this has happened in the Districts before—with 15 minutes left in the game and both teams came back the next night and played those last 15 minutes. Something is fishy here and like many are thinking and not necessarily saying— Did Nixa get this pushed thru? If they happen to win Saturday, it should be with a heavy conscious. If they wanted to win the game honorably, they would have insisted that the game continue. I have heard nothing about Nixa's Admin trying to fight for a full game, only Parkview. I was rooting for you, Parkview. Sorry you had to end a terrific season this way.
You obviously didn't read the story, I noted specifically that ALL of the Coaches involved worked to play the entire game. Please refrain from commenting or visiting my site in the future if you are unwilling to make the investment in reading the facts involved.
Would the officials speak to MSHSAA following a game like this or it this truely a dispicable act by a parent? Everything seemed like it was in the best interest of the safety of the girls and parents on the aluminum bleachers. How did MSHSAA get involved? It went from fair to foul smelling quick.
It is very unfortunate that the Viking's will not be able to play the full 80. There are lessons to be learned from this experience but there are no 'despicable acts' by anyone involved.
Nixa has never gotten backing or support, and probably never will. But to say that if we win tomorrow night we should have a guilty conscious is a bit unnecessary and far out of line. No one has gotten Nixa's side of the story. All us girls, plus our coaches, and athletic director pushed to play the second half of the game. We didn't believe it was fair to except a win like that. It simply came down to the rules in a rule book and the state over ruled us and the protests from Parkview. I truely feel for the parkview girls, especially the seniors. I really am sorry. But the nixa players and coaches should not be bashed for a decision that was out of our hands.
Player – Nixa has received plenty of support, there is no need to go there. As to "Spectator", he/she is uniformed. Concentrate on your game and ignore this nonsense.
My personal opinion is that this decision would have been made my MSHAA regardless of which Springfield schools were involved. The people that were making these decisions were not Springfield people, MSHAA is a state entity that has no vested interest in specific schools. Entertaining the idea that something could have been done differently by the administrations or coaches of either team is useless. High School games are always started if their is no lightning, this was a consensus decision made by all of the District 11 coaches and referees. The Nixa coaching staff and administration supported the Parkview appeal, and deserve credit for their display of good sportsmanship as well. The rule states that games can be ended at halftime if one team is winning. This is not a new rule. Obviously there are some details that weren't handled properly by certain individuals, which is why many of us thought our appeal was legitimate and had real merit, but MSHAA did not deem it so. My frustration is with the interpretation of the rule by MSHAA officials, not with any referees, coaches, players, etc. We were unlucky. We didn't get the breaks. I guess we all need someone to blame for that, but I'm not sure why.
Good luck to Nixa and Kickapoo. i hope that the team coming out of District 11 goes a long way in the State Tournament.
And about Coach Nurnberg!!! Has anyone stated that all of this happened solely and only because he showed his love for the girls before his love for the game??? Is this not what we want our girls to see? I believe the game was called due to safety reasons. What was his priority at the time the game was called? Winning? Obviously not! It was only on the fact that he had a responsibility to protect number five for me and all the rest of the girls from both teams. Sorry for the outcome, but thankful for a coach that showed his true heart Wednesday Night! Coach Nurnberg–THANKS! From number 5's dad!
It is fair to note that Catholic High School defeated both Nixa and Kickapoo during the current season and their District 6 championship was completely ignored by the NEWS-LEADER. It seems that quality soccer should be recognized regardless of the biases of the sports editorial pages. Obviously, Catholic once more is the area champion.
the past is the past and their is a huge game tonight deciding who goes on to play in the regionals. one team wins and one team had to loose . a goal was scored if the game was tied then parkview wouldn’t have this issue but that is not the case. good luck kickapoo and nixa make district 11 proud.
Thank you Joseph Florez for your sincere comments. There has been too much finger pointing and negative comments made in the last 24 hours. May God watch over all the players tonight.
wow… losing in districts is tough, but this has got to be next to unbarable for the Parkview girls. As someone loves soccer and continually follows sgf, I know Parkview has had an incredible season and for it to end like this just isn’t fair. I honestly don’t care what MSHSAA’s explanation is you just don’t do this to a team. And not to take anything away from Nixa (congrats on advancing to sectionals), but MSHSAA, if nothing else, ows it to the Parkview Lady Vikings Soccer team to apologize and change the rule for State Playoffs as soon as the Playoffs end. I would hate to see this ever to happen to any team or player again.
I think Ole made a good point when he said if this was the Final Four they probably would have finished the game. But, the fact is that the State Playoffs begin in the first round of districts and for every team involved, like the player said, “this is it for them.” That was Parkview’s shot to advance and maybe go to the Final Four even though it wasn’t THE Final Four. Bottom Line: MSHSAA was way off base here. They really blew it this time.