Tough call leads to Andrean’s fall

Updated: October 15, 2011 10:27PM

A step and a half was the difference Saturday night for Andrean’s boys soccer team.

Trailing No. 3 Bethany Christian 1-0 in the Class 1A regional championship game at Newton Park, Mike Gore thought he tied the game for the ninth-ranked 59ers with a goal in the 60th minute.

But that tally was waved off when referee Jim Hoover whistled Gore for being offsides on a very close call, and the Bruins held on to win 1-0 to advance to next Saturday’s semistate. Bethany Christian (17-3-1) will face the winner of Argos and West Lafayette.

“I don’t understand it because the ball was played backwards and sideways,” Andrean coach Pete Reist said. “How the guy can kick the ball and be offsides there, I don’t know.

“I just have a hard time believing he was off.”

While his teammates protested the call, Gore sprinted to midfield in celebration, then pulled his shirt over his head in disappointment once he learned the goal didn’t count.

“I heard the ref afterwards,” said Bethany Christian coach Hank Willems. “He told (Reist) he was off by a step and a half. I hope that’s the case because I hate for officials to determine the game.”

Andrean (16-4) had one more chance to tie the game with 13 minutes to play, but a blast off the foot of Kyle Costa was deflected away on a diving lunge by Bethany goalkeeper Jeff Yoder.

The Bruins got the wining goal in the 55th minute when Indiana University recruit Femi Hollinger-Janzen collected a bouncing pass from Josh Stoltzfus and dribbled inside the box, where he hammered home a left-footer for his 25th goal of the season.

“That was the one time all match that we lost track of Femi,” Reist said. “It looked like two of our guys came out and got a little tangled, the ball came to him loose, and he was able to turn and get time to shoot.”

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