Opening round of 9th region tourney ends w/ a great game as the Crusaders are able to hold off the Bluebirds, 1-0. St. Henry played a solid game and won by playing strong on 50/50 balls, stepping up and ultimately finishing a scoring opportunity by netting a mid way through the 2nd half. Two interesting "no-calls" by officials went against the 'Birds worth noting: an obstruction call on St. Henry's keeper gave Highlands an indirect in the box about 8 yrds from the goal. When the whistle blew, the St Henry defenders rushed the ball before it was played, deflecting it away. No call on a clear infringement of the 10-yd rule. Then, late in the game (4 minutes remaining) a Bluebird forward blew past defenders on a thru ball and was one-on-one w/ the keeper when he was tackled from behind in the box. No call--clearly should have resulted in PK.

 

Too bad...a great game by both teams that (once again) was allowed to end with officials refusing to make the right call when a clear scoring opportunity should have affected the outcome. If St. Henry continues to play the way they did tonight, they can make some noise in the tournament. Good Luck Crusaders.

It seems odd to start a tournament on a Sunday.

actually, it makes sense, as it gives team an opportunity to avoid playing on consecutive days in the even of a rain-out. And having all the opening round games played on one day was a good opportunity to see a number of games. Of course, the weather delayed the Boone-Holy Cross game, which pushed the last game back almost an hour. If games go as scheduled, 9th region champ will have several days to prepare for sectionals, which start next Tuesday (9th region champs hosts 10th region champ)

Congrats to the Cru!