Pioneer coach irked by call that leads to Canton's game-winning goal in Division 1 soccer regional

with slideshow: Pioneer coach irked by call that leads to Canton's game-winning goal in Division 1 soccer regional

Posted: Tue, Jun 8, 2010 : 11:08 p.m.

Topics: Prep Sports , Ann Arbor West , Central Ann Arbor , Sports

Players from Canton, left, and Pioneer react to the Chiefs' game-winning goal during Tuesday's Division 1 regional semifinal game at Canton. (Angela J. Cesere | AnnArbor.com)

CANTON - Pioneer High School girls soccer coach Lumumba Shabazz was not happy.

Here's why.

Late in the second half, with a Division 1 regional semifinal game tied 1-1, Canton sailed a corner kick toward Pioneer's net. Goalie Kaitlyn Bedolla patted the shot down, and the ball - seemingly - riccocheted off a Canton player before dribbling out of bounds.

The referee signaled for a Pioneer goal kick. At first.

Seconds later, he reversed the call to a Canton corner kick. And this time the Chiefs converted, as Christie Balewski punched a shot into Pioneer's net during a scrum for the loose ball with 13:15 left. It proved to be the game-winner in the Pioneers' 2-1 loss at Canton on Tuesday.

More coverage on MLive.com: Boxscore | Division 1 Bracket

"When the ref calls your ball, your instinct is to go up field and get prepared," explained Shabazz. "And when he calls it back it just completely changes the sequence of things.

"And I felt like he put (Canton) back in the game."

Up until Canton's table-turning goal, the Pioneers undoubtedly held the momentum, having scored a goal six minutes earlier to tie the game.

"I felt the girls got cheated," said Shabazz, whose team trailed 1-0 and was being outshot 6-3 at halftime. "They fought so hard to get back into the game."

Canton's opening goal came less than two minutes into the first half when Allyson Krause's corner kick pass was headed in by Megan Trapp.

"The first half we started slow. I give credit to Canton; I thought they started with some energy," said Shabazz.

After a first half without matching Canton's goal and energy, the Pioneers knew adjustments were in order.

"The girls themselves addressed that at halftime," noted Shabazz. "They said they needed to come out with more energy, possess the ball better, and get after them.

"And they did."

Pioneer worked itself ahead in the shot count and continually kept Canton's on its heels, emulated by on-target-but-just-wide shots from Margaret Nemetz and Cara Pardon midway through the half.

Eventually, Pioneer's Samantha Voss provided the equalizer. Her goal came after Stephanie Schaeberle's lead pass attempt was bobbled by Canton goalie Kayla Bridges, allowing Voss to step in and send a shot into the open net at 19:46.

"We were trying to play the ball wide," said Voss, a senior. "And we just really tried to get our efforts up, and put a lot of heart into the game, because we worked so hard to be here."

"It just kind of sucks that we're walking off the field like this ..."

Minutes later, the controversial reversed call came, breathing life into Canton's offense and tail-spinning Pioneer's momentum.

The Pioneers (13-3-3) managed a few more shots as their season wound to a close, but nothing found the back of the Chiefs' net.

"All credit to them (my players)," said Shabazz, who couldn't help but remain irked by the referees. "They worked too hard to get back into the game. For them to be cheated like that, I absolutely hate that. And it's not taking anything away from Canton.

"You want to know that when you stepped off a field," he continued, "it's because, you weren't good enough, the other team was much better. You hate to come off a field knowing that you were very capable (of winning)."

Canton advances to play an intra-campus regional championship game against Plymouth on Thursday night. Plymouth beat Dearborn, 1-0, in Tuesday's second semifinal.