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Posted September 2, 2008
By Paul Erickson, UWP Sports Information Director
UW-Platteville tied third-ranked Loras College 0-0 in a somewhat strange men's soccer game at Ralph E. Davis Pioneer Stadium Tuesday night.
The well-played neighborhood battle was stopped for one hour and three minutes because of lightning in the area and then suspended for good with 11:42 remaining.
"There are multiple ways to determine lightning, with the lightning detector not being the sole one," referee Dave Jaworski said. "We are on the side of caution in the NCAA. Once that thing (the detector) goes off or we see lightning in the distance, it's an automatic 30-minute delay. If it lightnings again, you re-set the 30-minute clock. And we continue until 30 minutes expires and we can start the game."
The delay came at 8:18 p.m. with 31:33 left in the second half, and after a few false hopes, the contest resumed at 9:21 p.m. It was suspended again at 9:43 p.m., and both teams immediately left the field once more in what will be considered an official game.
"It all depends on how much the game is played, with 70 minutes being the mark," Jaworski said. "If we play less than that, it's a no contest, which means it can be played in its entirety. After that, it becomes a suspended game, and it's really up to the coaches if they want to continue (at a later date), but in this case it will most likely be left a tie. All the stats and things count as an official game."
The distant lightning aside, the contest was a good battle between the Pioneers, who were undefeated at home in 2007, and the Duhawks, who were 23-0-2 last year and off to a 2-0 start this season.
"Up to the first stoppage, we had the momentum going," Pioneer Coach Enzo Fuschino said. "We had them in their half of the field, and we had some good chances.We put pressure on their backs and had some good runs. I think the stoppage hurt us little bit. In the last 10-15 minutes, it looked like they had the edge. It was a weird ending. Unfortunately, Mother Nature played games."
The Duhawks held a slight 10-8 edge in shots, but the evenness of the game encouraged the Pioneer coach.
"It gives me encouragement, and I hope it gives the team confidence, although not over-confidence," he said. "We can play with these teams, but we know Carleton is another good team. Hopefully we can build on the positives of this game and fix the things we need to fix. It was a very important game for us against one of the top national teams."
The Pioneers face Carleton Thursday at 4 p.m. in Pioneer Stadium.
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