Normans Loss Is One for Books

The Beverly Hills High boys soccer team allowed two short-handed goals in a 2-1 road loss to Inglewood Morningside on Wednesday. 

The Normans (10-10-1 overall, 3-4 in the Ocean League) led at halftime 1-0 thanks to Elijah Lichtenberg's goal just seconds from the whistle. A throw-in near the end line by Josh Newman went straight into the box and Lichtenberg found a way past Monarchs goalkeeper Carlos Miranda. 

In the 46th minute, an Inglewood player went down and the referee gave him a red card for diving. The player had to be carried off the field and the Monarchs (10-11, 2-4) would have to play one man down for the rest of the game.

It apparently didn’t matter to them, as they found inspiration after the send-off and began attacking aggressively. In the 50th minute, Monarchs captain Chigozie Nwobi streaked down the left side and shot just wide of Beverly Hills goalkeeper Matthew Davidov. Five minutes later, the Monarchs broke through as Linkenson Modeus chased down a lead pass and chipped it over Davidov to tie it 1-1. 

In the 57th minute, another Monarchs player went down and began clutching his leg. The same referee who had issued the red card ran over and yelled at the player loudly enough to be heard by everyone on the field. Threatening a yellow card to the player unless he rose immediately, the referee made his intentions clear and the player begrudgingly stood up slowly. Off the ensuing free kick from behind the midfield line, co-captain Juan Delgado outran the Normans defenders to the ball and shot past Davidov for the go-ahead goal. 

Playing a man down “didn’t matter,” Beverly Hills coach Steve Rappaport said.  “The play we’re getting, we’re not getting 11 performances. The field is narrow, it’s hard to play on. We didn’t like the style and we didn’t adjust to it.”

The Normans had a great opportunity in the 61st minute when Nick Marmureanu got behind the Monarchs defense but shot into an approaching Miranda, who charged out to make the save. 

Rapport started the match with Leo Gettleson manning the net.  Gettleson played well, swatting away a few shots the Normans fullbacks weren’t able to immediately clear. Gettleson allowed a ball to get past him in the 17th minute, but captain Shaya Noorian was there to kick the ball away, saving a sure goal.  

Gettleson made a key save in the 39th minute when a Monarchs player launched a screamer at him tailing left. After initially heading to his left, Gettleson dove to his right and pushed the ball wide. Despite the great save and first half shutout, Rappaport had to pull Gettleson because his focus was elsewhere. 

“His head wasn’t there at all,” Rappaport said. “He mentally was just, ‘I can’t do it’… I would never have pulled him otherwise. That wasn’t personal.” 

The longtime Normans head coach said many of his players were up late studying for finals this week and for many of them, their focus wasn’t all on the pitch. 

“It’s hard, these kids focus really hard on academics, and they get out here and they’ve been up all night studying and they just don’t execute,” Rappaport said.  “You can’t come out anywhere in a game and not give 100 percent and expect to get a win.”

Rappaport said his squad will have to win two of its last three games to make it into the playoffs.