Buzzer Beater Doesn't Count, Kits Settle For 1-1 Tie

High school baseball fans have been known to accuse umpires of being blind when the calls don’t favor their team.

High school soccer fans? Maybe they should ask for a hearing test.

In a game that featured the most bizarre finish in tournament history, Evanston settled for a 1-1 draw with Chicago Mather Tuesday night in the first round of the Evanston Invitational.

The home team scored what appeared to be the game-winning goal in amazing fashion --- more on that later --- as time ran out, then had the goal disallowed five minutes later when the lead referee conferred with the side officials and decided he hadn’t actually heard the scoreboard buzzer that signaled that time had expired.

Fans on both sides of Lazier Field heard that buzzer --- but his was the only opinion that counted. Nowhere in the sport’s rule book is that kind of logic applied to the decision to disallow a goal because you guessed that the clock had run out.

That same official also failed to put enough time back on game clock earlier when there was also confusion in the final moments. He whistled a foul on the Rangers that gave the Wildkits one final free kick, but Mather’s Ricardo Hernandez interfered with Evanston’s attempt to restart the game to the point where he was penalized with a red card.

The clock kept ticking through all of that confusion, and only 5 seconds were put back into play. On the restart from the 35-yard line, Evanston’s Noah Thomas booted an on-target delivery into the middle of the box and Wildkit goalie Ben Matsa --- who had joined his teammates at the offensive end of the field to put an extra body in a position for a possible score --- knocked the ball into the back of the net.

Matsa’s celebration turned into team anguish for the hosts just a few minutes later.

“He didn’t hear the buzzer because we were already celebrating,” said Evanston head coach Franz Calixte after his team played to a 1-1 tie for the second game in a row. “I heard the buzzer --- after we scored.

“Human error happens with players, human error happens with coaches, and human error happens with referees. That was an amazing moment. He said he was counting down in his head and didn’t hear the buzzer. It doesn’t happen that often when a high school soccer game comes down to the last shot. But you can’t take it away, just because you didn’t hear a buzzer.”

“It was an electric moment and they took away Ben’s dream goal. I don’t remember ever seeing a game end like this. It’s too bad we didn’t win this game, but I’d like to think we did.”

Evanston, now 0-0-2 on the year, will play Lake Forest Academy at 7 p.m. Thursday. The round-robin tournament will conclude on Saturday at 3 p.m. when the defending tournament champion Kits face Payton Prep.

Calixte’s concerns coming into the season regarding his team’s lack of offensive punch have become apparent to even the casual fan at this early stage of the season. The Wildkits have to get on the same page and find the right pace to play at, as a combination of kick-and-run and more patient play hasn’t produced much (that counts anyway) on the scoreboard.

In a season-opening 1-1 tie with Elk Grove, Evanston’s only goal came on a penalty kick. Tuesday, they tallied on a corner kick started by James Nicolaou and converted by Louis Dush-Hart in the game’s 54th minute. But the hosts were whistled for 11 offsides violations as they attempted to take advantage of the “offside trap” defense employed by the gambling Rangers.

Mather caught a break and tied the contest with 11 minutes, 29 second remaining when Amir Hakim’s close-in shot glanced off the ankle of defender Thomas and was re-directed past goalie Matsa.

“We have a lot of new (varsity) players and they haven’t seen that high (flat back) offside trap before,” Calixte pointed out. “That’s why we had so many offside calls (8) in the first half. I thought they did a better job of adjusting to it in the second half. It’s a gamble when you play defense like that.

“Every year it’s about the team getting on the same page at this tournament. We’re still trying to figure out how we want to play as a team.”