LYNN — Saturday’s late-afternoon thunderstorm didn’t just wreak havoc among those seeking to wring out the last possible ounce of summer weather.
It dampened the conclusion of the boys Lynn Soccer Tournament championship game.
With just one half completed, with St. Mary’s leading Lynn Tech 1-0 on Kaya Jackson’s direct-kick goal, the teams were about to start second-half play when the referees called everybody off the Manning Field turf. At that point, it had not started raining, but the clouds were definitely rolling in.
Shortly after the officials halted play, however, there were rumbles of thunder and flashes of lightning. By the time other game officials left the field, rain started coming down heavily.
More than a half hour later, word trickled out that the game had been canceled and that St. Mary’s was declared the winner. The decision did not sit well with the Tech coaches. But both Tiger AD Adolphe Graciale and St. Mary’s counterpart Jeff Newhall said there was nothing anyone could do.
“It’s unfortunate they don’t allow a postponement in a tournament game,” said Tech assistant Briana Moreno. “We were playing so well and they just decided to end it.”
“With St. Mary’s running the tournament, we didn’t have much say,” she said. “To watch another team celebrate with the trophy when you couldn’t even play the game was crazy. Something should have been done on Tech’s behalf.”
Newhall and Graciale were of like mind. Both noted that the referees were the ones who pulled the plug, the rules state they had to wait until a half hour after the final sign of lightning before restarting, there were two football games scheduled for Saturday evening, and that the MIAA handbook states that games are official if one half has been played.
“It’s unfortunate it had to end that way,” Graciale said. “But with the two games on for Saturday night there was no way we could go on from there.”
“The referees waited around a long time before making the call,” Graciale said. “There was a lot of frustration on the part of a lot of people.”
Newhall pointed out that the officials, not the tournament director or home team, have control once the game begins. He said it took the referees an hour to call the game and determine it official.
Newhall said the state rules interpreter said the officials “waited longer than most would and the rules were followed and the decision was correct.”
“The only time a game would be suspended after it’s an official game is when the rules state that, and it’s only stated in the MIAA soccer format for state tournament games,” Newhall said. “This isn’t how we’d have wanted it to end.”
The win capped a successful afternoon for Spartans soccer, as the girls won the title, defeating Tech, 8-0.
In the boys game, both sides played evenly in the first 40 minutes, with both goalies – Clan LaVasseur for the Spartans and William Martinez for Tech – making standout saves throughout. But the St. Mary’s defense stood exceptionally tall as the Tigers seemed to spend a good amount of time on the Spartan side of the midfield circle.
Defense is where our experience is,” said co-coach Shane McCarran. “We’re going to be hard to score on.”
With less than two minutes to go in the half, the Spartans were awarded a direct kick. With the Tiger defense forming a wall in front of him, Jackson’s cannon shot went around the end of it and bounded into the far-right corner of the net for the game’s only goal.
“It was a great shot,” Graciale said.
