A disturbing finish to a great state matchup can only end in heartbreak for one team. Unfortunately for the Marauders, they had their hearts broken in a difficult 2-1 loss to Gilbert Christian High School on Tuesday, Jan. 31.
Tied 1-1 with just under a minute to go, Gilbert Christian players entered the box where senior goalkeeper Johnny Lara stood defending his goal.
One of the Knights made a cross, which made its way to the front of the goal, and a Gilbert Christian player appeared to commit a hand ball violation and watched the ball sail in to the goal, putting the Knights up 2-1 with 33 seconds to go.
“The center judge immediately questioned the goal, and he went over to the side judge to see if he saw if it was a hand ball,” Mingus Union High School boys soccer Head Coach Cade Densmore said. “He hit the ball with his forearm.”
The referees seemed unclear, but called it a goal anyway, and Gilbert Christian went on to knock the Marauders out of the Division III state playoffs at Northwest Christian on Tuesday.
“After the match, not only the player, but the three coaches on Gilbert Christian’s team said it was a hand ball to the referee. So five coaches and a few players were saying, ‘Let’s just go to overtime; it was a hand ball,’ and they wouldn’t overturn it,” said a disappointed Densmore.
In the end, Gilbert Christian gets the victory, but the loss leaves a sour taste in the mouths of Marauders players, who were having one of the best seasons in a long time for boys soccer at Mingus.
Mingus dominated the match from start to finish, recording 12 shots on frame to Gilbert Christian’s five total. Junior goalkeeper Gilbert Quidera had two saves and gave up a goal in the first half in the 15th minute.
The Marauders scored in the 31st minute on a goal by senior Jose Jaimes, assisted by senior Williams Dominguez, to tie it, 1-1.
With the loss, Mingus wraps up the 2011-2012 season with a solid 10-5 overall record.
“I’m a little disappointed with how it ended. It’s pretty hard to take right now,” Densmore said.
