St. Viator breezed to a 4-0 victory over Rockford Boylan in their Class A girls soccer semifinal game Saturday morning, but the Lions’ Lori King was still upset.
King was prevented from starting because referee Carl Kenar ruled her shinguards were too small.
“Shinguards have to offer adequate protection for the shin,” Kenar said. “Theirs have to be legal. They cannot be junior-size shinguards. That’s what they were wearing.”
Kenar made the entire team change its shinguards before the game, and St. Viator coach Rory Dames was so upset he received a yellow card during warmups for criticizing the ruling.
When the game was about to start, King’s replacements were ruled inadequate and she had to leave the field.
“At the start of the game he goes, `Those aren’t right, either,'” said King, a senior who is only the second player in the state to compile at least 90 goals and 90 assists during a high school career. “So I had to go switch them a second time and couldn’t even stay in the game.
“When you’re trying to concentrate on a game that’s so important, and to have to start worrying about something that’s so insignificant, it ruins everything.”
Dames shared King’s frustration.
“If the officials were as concerned about the rules of the game as they were about what people were wearing, high school soccer would be in a much better state right now,” Dames said.
Natalia Walters scored two goals and Lauren Weber managed a goal, her 25th, and two assists in the semifinal victory. Emily Galassi also scored for St. Viator in its 13th consecutive victory.
Geneva takes third: Erin Dargis, who had scored only three goals this season, scored her fourth and biggest one with 1 minute 45 seconds left as Geneva beat Rockford Boylan 2-1 for the third-place trophy. It was her only shot of the game.
“We wanted to prove to everybody that we were the team that played Friday night, not this morning,” Dargis said. After beating Peoria Notre Dame 6-1 Friday, the Vikings (21-3-2) lost in the semifinals to Normal University and Ashlee Pistorius 2-1.
Pistorius, the state’s leading scorer and only a sophomore, scored her 56th and 57th goals of the season to beat Geneva. Katy Lindenmuth prevented the shutout by scoring on a penalty kick with 24 seconds left.
Lindenmuth tied Boylan (17-9) at 1-1 with another penalty kick late in the second half. Lindsey Phillips scored for the Titans.
