Unsportsmanlike times in a heated rivalry
As I stood on the sidelines at the beginning of last Saturday’s men’s soccer LEC conference match-up between USM and the Keene State Owls, I knew I was in for a good game.
The rivalry between the two schools is unlike any other in the conference. It’s like a Red Sox vs. Yankees, or a Duke vs. UNC basketball rivalry. It’s heated. It’s competitive. And it’s entertaining.
There is always a common theme in every competition between the USM Huskies and the Keene State Owls. Everyone who has been around any part of this aggressive encounter between the two schools has probably noticed it; unsportsmanlike conduct.
In a battle that started on edge from the beginning, I had a feeling this game was going to get somewhat out of hand. Early in the game, when a USM player had a clear path to the goal, a determined Keene State player sneakily forced a slide tackle from behind to prevent a USM goal. This move is not tolerated in the game of soccer, and the player was given a red card and ejected from the game.
The Owl’s didn’t stop there. They pursued the referees with constant pressure of complaining about calls, making statements such as “come on sir!” and “are you serious?” Now, I’m not saying that USM isn’t guilty of this, but it just seemed as if the Owls forced the issue over and over.
While Keene State was playing a man down for the final 68 minutes of the contest, they scored their first goal in the 31st minute when senior Scott Bluff fired a shot from the right side of the 18-yard marker into the far side of the post tallying his second goal of the season.
USM came right back when senior captain Pete McHugh (Scarborough) took a cross from junior forward Nick Johnson (South Portland) and booted it from 12-yards out past Keene senior goalkeeper Peter Kersker for his team-leading eighth goal of the season.
After that goal, everything seemed to go downhill emotion wise. Keene State’s head coach was losing his temper on the sideline. He threw towels to the ground and kicked them in the air. He yelled at his players and at the referees. When senior USM defender Steve May (Brunswick) collided with a Keene player accidently, the Keene player pushed him to the ground and trash-talked him. Johnson stood in front of the net along with a group of red Keene jerseys on a USM free kick, being pushed and shoved back and forth. Nobody did anything. Did the refs not see this type of behavior?
Then, with less than four minutes left to play, Keene State took advantage of their opportunities. Senior Nate Gaughan, who had just subbed in, took a throw in into the USM zone where a USM defender mistakenly thought senior goaltender David Kreps (Agawam, MA) was going to scoop up the ball. Instead Keene junior Ryan Murphy hustled past the defender towards the ball and slipped it by Kreps at the 86th minute mark to take the lead, a lead they would not relinquish. The Huskies season was over.
I have witnessed Keene be guilty of poor sportsmanship in not only men’s soccer games but also in baseball, and both men’s and women’s basketball. This behavior is not acceptable. In their sportsmanship statement, the LEC and the NCAA claim to “promote good sportsmanship by student-athletes, coaches and spectators.” Keene should live up to this standard.
Keene State may have won this battle and knocked the Huskies postseason hopes away, but they did not win the honor of sportsmanship. Being confident is one thing, but being classless is another. The rivalry between these two schools may be one of best in the conference in terms of intensity. Hopefully in the years ahead, it can become the best in terms of sportsmanship as well.