BOYS SOCCER Boardman loses to Green, 5-1

A controversial call in the first half took away a goal in the district tournament.
By BRIAN RICHESSON
VINDICATOR SPORTS STAFF
GREEN -- When the Boardman High boys soccer team looks back on its 5-1 loss to Green in a Division I district semifinal Monday, one play will stand out.
It came with just over 15 minutes remaining in the first half and the Spartans trailing 3-1 at Green High Stadium.
Goal taken away: Boardman senior forward Jamie Hay scored a goal that would have cut his team's deficit to one, but it was called off -- after a short delay -- because of an offside violation.
"That's a 3-2 game and there's still [15] minutes left in the half," said Boardman coach John Yosay, who received a yellow card for arguing the call. "If we tie it up before halftime, it's a 0-0 game again."
Green coach Renato D'Agruma thought the right call was made.
"The linesman had the flag up for a while, but [the official] never saw him," he said. "The play developed to the point where they ended up scoring, but actually it was offside way back."
Although one play seemed meaningless for Boardman (10-6-2) in its four-goal defeat, it could have provided the Spartans with a boost going into the second half.
"You could just see the air go out of the balloon," Yosay said.
Meets Fitch next: Top-seeded Green (12-3-3) took advantage of the break and its overall talent to advance into the district title game against Austintown Fitch.
Green seized control of the game at the outset, scoring three goals in the first 14 minutes.
"Those first 20 minutes, we played super," D'Agruma said. "That domination set the tone of the game."
But Boardman, the fourth seed, rallied. First, Hay launched a hard shot that forced Green goalkeeper Dan Brown to dive for the save.
Nearly seven minutes later, senior Ryan Yosay put Boardman on the board with a close shot in front with 18:37 remaining before halftime.
Hay then blasted the shot past Brown that would have cut Boardman's deficit to 3-2. But, after conferring with the side judge, the referee disallowed the goal.
Green, which dominated the flow of the game, out-shot Boardman 25-6. Hay was at the center of the Spartans' few opportunities, hitting the crossbar on a shot with 15 minutes remaining.
Boardman senior goalkeeper Joel Monaco made nine saves, including two dynamic stops in the second half that turned Green away.
richesson@vindy.com