So ends another day of refereeing this wild and crazy tournament. Well, not too crazy, overall it has gone well and the tournament organizers have mostly good things to say!
Today I was privileged to be the Senior Assistant Referee on a competitive Girls U16 semifinal match. The two teams, one from New Hampshire and the other from Massachusetts (Yes I was allowed to be on that match since I was not the center). My partners were a referee from Pennsylvania and one from NH. I quickly bonded with these gentlemen over lunch prior to our game and we developed a strong rapport, which aided us greatly during the match. Communication was spot on -- and it was needed, because the game was close, ending in a 2-2 draw after regulation and extra time. And so we entered the dreaded (well, not for us) kicks from the penalty mark (see! I used the right lingo! I'd probably be kicked off this blog if I called it a penalty shootout). In a tense shootout, the NH team advanced to the final, and my crew came out unscathed with glowing remarks from the assessor. A strong shout out to the Pennsylvania East representative in the middle, who put in a stellar performance.
Like the last couple of days, we wrapped up the evening with dinner and a large referee meeting. There, they announced the referees that would be going to the National President's Cup, and also the referees for the various finals to be held tomorrow. Massachusetts has 1 representative going, and 4 officials (or 40% of our referees) in final matches. Unfortunately I was not selected :-( but the silver lining is that the other referees not selected and myself will be able to watch the games our friends are in.
I'll also be able to take some pictures, so I encourage you to follow the #MassRegionalRefs and #MassTourneyRefs hashtags on instagram and twitter for more updates. Also check the Massachusetts State Referee Committee page for more up to date news about the event.
Catch you next time!
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