The score was 2-1. John Carroll University beat Cuyahoga Community College’s men’s soccer team, the Challengers, on September 5.
Throughout the match, the referees made many questionable calls. During the second half of the game, Number 15 from John Carroll university was left injured, lying on the field, for over a minute. Some of the players, most of them from John Carroll, blatantly grabbed and pulled other players to the ground.
Spectators from both Tri-C and John Carroll felt the referees just weren’t paying attention or didn’t care. This was not the only case of “ref laziness,” as one observer put it.
“I don’t think the refs were too unfair,” said Tri-C’s men’s soccer coach Devan Anderson. “Yeah, there were some calls they missed. But I believe they’re just trying to make the best calls they can.”
Although this was an upsetting loss for the team, Anderson remains very optimistic for the rest of the season, saying, “We have a lot of solid second-year players who really drive our team; we also have some really skilled first-year players.”
The Challengers traveled to Michigan for the September 8 game against Schoolcraft College, but Schoolcraft won 4-0.
“Schoolcraft is just a better team,” Anderson said.
But September 13 brought Tri-C a victory against Lakeland Community College, with a final score of 4-3 after Tri-C’ s Number 21 scored effortlessly.
“We have a relatively young team, so they know how to play good,” Anderson said after the win. “It’s just that they don’t have the right mindset yet.”
The next issue of The Voice will include more inside details on the Challengers’ games this season.
You can show your support for the Challengers at West Campus on September 29 against Schoolcraft College and October 4 against Mercyhurst North East College.
