Horrible end to fantastic year
Bees fall to Ignatius on debatable OT call
Medina’s Justin Libertowski celebrates one of his two first-half goals in the Bees’ state semifinal loss to St. Ignatius. Photo by BRUCE BILLOW
The official scorebook will show no assist on the goal that ended Medina’s soccer team. Reality tells a different story.
Thanks to one gargantuan assist, perhaps even a gift, St. Ignatius stopped Medina’s best season with a 3-2 decision in a Division I state semifinal Nov. 9. The game was decided by a penalty kick 4:44 into overtime on a call that was questionable at best – and downright awful to those on Medina’s side.
“I can’t even put it into words,” Bees senior midfielder Will Turrittin said. “It’s so unfortunate that a game of that high of a caliber had to come down to a call like that at the end. I don’t think it’s fair to either team. Props to Ignatius. They played a good game. But at the end of the day I don’t think they really deserved it.”
The win put St. Ignatius in the Division I state final against Columbus St. Charles. The Wildcats (20-0-2) headed to Columbus seeking a third consecutive state title, one that possibly could need a giant asterisk.
St. Ignatius may have gone on to win, via an overtime goal or even via penalty kick shootout. That the Wildcats won on a goal they were essentially handed – Medina resident Stephen Milhoan converted the game-winner – left a rancorous taste in the Bees’ mouths.
“It’s always disappointing when referees decide the outcome of a game,” Medina coach Simon Spelling said. “And today that’s what happened. It would have been better had it been a free kick outside the penalty area. If you want to make the call, make the call there. But don’t decide the game, especially in overtime.”
On the play in question, a St. Ignatius forward and Medina defender were playing the ball just inside the far-left corner of the penalty box. There was contact, but not the kind that you’d see draw a foul – let alone a call in the box – during a non-league regular-season game. That the call came in overtime of a state semifinal was stunning to the majority of the 1,470 on hand at Strongsville’s Pat Catan Stadium.
“He said it was inside the box and the guy missed the tackle,” Spelling said. “Some of my players feel it was outside the box and that the ball was going out of bounds anyway. The referee was in in a position to make a call and made a call and we suffered as a result.”
Early on it looked like Medina (18-2-2) was headed for its first state title game berth. The Bees took a 2-0 lead in the first half. Justin Libertowski scored both Medina goals, the first nine minutes in when he got a breakaway against Wildcats goalie Lodge Dils and converted after Dils stopped Libertowski’s initial shot.
The prolific forward rung the bell a second time with 7:34 left before halftime, this time with an assist from Will Turrittin.
At that point, the Wildcats’ No. 1 national ranking looked specious at best. Then Milhoan – the 2015 state player of the year, but arguably not even the best player from Medina – struck, converting a direct kick from about 25 yards out. The goal, just 46.6 seconds before halftime, was a momentum-changer.
Alexander Rohr got the equalizer for St. Ignatius less than five minutes into the second half. From there, the Bees avoided a shooting gallery, as the Wildcats took 14 second-half shots, seven of them on goal.
“You know they were going to make a run and they made a run and we were on our heels for the first 10 minutes of the second half,” Spelling said. “But as the second half progressed, we weren’t intimidated. We didn’t play with any fear. Even though we didn’t quite have the horses that we should have because of injuries, we were still competitive enough, we were dangerous enough, and I think we could have won it in regulation or before they got the PK.”
Considering who he was up against and that two of the Wildcats’ goals were teed up for them, Tyler Glasenapp played a stellar game in goal for Medina. The junior made nine saves. He simply had no chance to make a 10th.
“It sucks to end a game on that,” Glasenapp said. “I don’t even know what that was. For a ref to end a game like that, that big, it’s just unlucky.”
This one, as Libertowski succinctly put it, hurts, if you’re a Medina player, coach or fan.
“Twenty years from now I know I’m still going to be thinking of this game,” he said. “This was our year. We worked so hard for it. Everything was working for us. It was clicking. Then the ball bounced in their direction.”
In 20 years, and then 30 and 40 and beyond, the Bees will always wonder how that game, that season, might have played out.
“It’s helpless for a ref to call a game like that, for a decision to be made like that,” Turrittin said. “You just feel awful. There’s nothing you can do. It comes down to the ref at that point.
“And he blew it.”
Thanks to one gargantuan assist, perhaps even a gift, St. Ignatius stopped Medina’s best season with a 3-2 decision in a Division I state semifinal Nov. 9. The game was decided by a penalty kick 4:44 into overtime on a call that was questionable at best – and downright awful to those on Medina’s side.
“I can’t even put it into words,” Bees senior midfielder Will Turrittin said. “It’s so unfortunate that a game of that high of a caliber had to come down to a call like that at the end. I don’t think it’s fair to either team. Props to Ignatius. They played a good game. But at the end of the day I don’t think they really deserved it.”
The win put St. Ignatius in the Division I state final against Columbus St. Charles. The Wildcats (20-0-2) headed to Columbus seeking a third consecutive state title, one that possibly could need a giant asterisk.
St. Ignatius may have gone on to win, via an overtime goal or even via penalty kick shootout. That the Wildcats won on a goal they were essentially handed – Medina resident Stephen Milhoan converted the game-winner – left a rancorous taste in the Bees’ mouths.
“It’s always disappointing when referees decide the outcome of a game,” Medina coach Simon Spelling said. “And today that’s what happened. It would have been better had it been a free kick outside the penalty area. If you want to make the call, make the call there. But don’t decide the game, especially in overtime.”
On the play in question, a St. Ignatius forward and Medina defender were playing the ball just inside the far-left corner of the penalty box. There was contact, but not the kind that you’d see draw a foul – let alone a call in the box – during a non-league regular-season game. That the call came in overtime of a state semifinal was stunning to the majority of the 1,470 on hand at Strongsville’s Pat Catan Stadium.
“He said it was inside the box and the guy missed the tackle,” Spelling said. “Some of my players feel it was outside the box and that the ball was going out of bounds anyway. The referee was in in a position to make a call and made a call and we suffered as a result.”
Early on it looked like Medina (18-2-2) was headed for its first state title game berth. The Bees took a 2-0 lead in the first half. Justin Libertowski scored both Medina goals, the first nine minutes in when he got a breakaway against Wildcats goalie Lodge Dils and converted after Dils stopped Libertowski’s initial shot.
The prolific forward rung the bell a second time with 7:34 left before halftime, this time with an assist from Will Turrittin.
At that point, the Wildcats’ No. 1 national ranking looked specious at best. Then Milhoan – the 2015 state player of the year, but arguably not even the best player from Medina – struck, converting a direct kick from about 25 yards out. The goal, just 46.6 seconds before halftime, was a momentum-changer.
Alexander Rohr got the equalizer for St. Ignatius less than five minutes into the second half. From there, the Bees avoided a shooting gallery, as the Wildcats took 14 second-half shots, seven of them on goal.
“You know they were going to make a run and they made a run and we were on our heels for the first 10 minutes of the second half,” Spelling said. “But as the second half progressed, we weren’t intimidated. We didn’t play with any fear. Even though we didn’t quite have the horses that we should have because of injuries, we were still competitive enough, we were dangerous enough, and I think we could have won it in regulation or before they got the PK.”
Considering who he was up against and that two of the Wildcats’ goals were teed up for them, Tyler Glasenapp played a stellar game in goal for Medina. The junior made nine saves. He simply had no chance to make a 10th.
“It sucks to end a game on that,” Glasenapp said. “I don’t even know what that was. For a ref to end a game like that, that big, it’s just unlucky.”
This one, as Libertowski succinctly put it, hurts, if you’re a Medina player, coach or fan.
“Twenty years from now I know I’m still going to be thinking of this game,” he said. “This was our year. We worked so hard for it. Everything was working for us. It was clicking. Then the ball bounced in their direction.”
In 20 years, and then 30 and 40 and beyond, the Bees will always wonder how that game, that season, might have played out.
“It’s helpless for a ref to call a game like that, for a decision to be made like that,” Turrittin said. “You just feel awful. There’s nothing you can do. It comes down to the ref at that point.
“And he blew it.”