Some high school soccer coaches in favor of giving overtime the boot

By: Bill Beckner Jr.
Tuesday, August 27, 2024 | 5:48 PM

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When there was chatter about the PIAA eliminating overtime from regular-season soccer games this offseason, many coaches smiled with optimism.

When the proposal never made it past the strategic planning committee, those same coaches sighed.

Now, some are fit to be tied.

Teams will continue to play a 10-minute period to settle games with a golden goal or play another 10 minutes if they are still tied.

That means they still could play 100-minute games that do not produce winners, with long bus rides home deep into the night.

Teams with small rosters and limited depth were pushing for the overtime change and hoping the state’s governing body for athletics brings in up again.

“It’s frustrating, and we certainly question the rationale,” Latrobe coach Jamie Campbell said. “They also took it a step further and took any power away from the coaches to come to an agreement otherwise. The intensity of regulation match play is already physically demanding, and for teams that don’t have the roster numbers to help manage the workload, that fatigue continues to build, too, often leading to injury.”

Latrobe, which has 21 players in its first season in 4A, went to overtime in its opener Saturday and played to a 2-2 tie with Avonworth in the Moe Rosensteel Kickoff Classic.

The game was played in 80-plus-degree heat.

“To add an additional 20 minutes potentially numerous times a season seems to ask for more unnecessary risk,” Campbell said. “(Against Avonworth,) several girls were dropping with cramps during the OT periods, and still a winner could not be determined. We left with a draw as the final result. What is the point?”

In the playoffs, where games must have a winner, the same overtime rules apply, but penalty kicks are used to break a tie after regulation and two overtimes.

After a unanimous recommendation from the soccer committee, the PIAA considered the idea to alter the regular-season format in January but ultimately did not pass it over the summer. The proposal was voted down by the strategic planning committee 11-6 and did not make it up the ladder to the board of directors.

The NCAA eliminated regular-season overtime in 2022, so teams often play to ties.

New York high schools also require two OT periods, and Ohio does not use OT to settle games in the regular season.

PIAA Chief Operating Officer Mark E. Byers, the tournament director for soccer, said the sport would be an outlier if overtime were taken away.

“I believe the underlying factor for the board is that soccer would be the only sport sponsored at the varsity level under PIAA where overtime would be prohibited,” Byers said, “while the adopted rules for the sport provide for an overtime procedure. The consistency in the application of the rules tended to lead the discussion.”

Belle Vernon boys coach Al Yeschenko also was a proponent for eliminating overtime.

“I was totally fine with ending in a draw,” he said. “I realize the players like to play in OT, but I know they aren’t thinking about protecting their health and season the same way their coach is. I was very disappointed.

“We have been added to a new section that requires us to travel much further distance and some difficult rides. Many of my players are high performing academically, and the section requires us to leave earlier after school and return later in the night, almost giving no time for after-school homework, school projects, as well as proper nutrition and sleep. They are sometimes eating on the bus, concession stand or bagged snacks.”

Some coaches have suggested overtime be eliminated from nonsection games.

Mt. Pleasant boys coach Floyd Snyder prefers overtime the way it is.

“I am in favor of OT,” he said. “I feel it keeps teams more honest in their play. It’s a lot easier to park the bus for 80 minutes and play for a draw against a better team. It’s a lot tougher to pack it in for 80 minutes plus OT. The better team is more likely to prevail the more time the teams play.”

Burrell girls coach Frank Nesko said overtime adds to an already weighty workload for the players. He would rather see teams take the one point for a tie and move on.

Teams get two points for a win and one for a tie in the standings.

“Most schools are asking their players to play in three matches a week,” Nesko said. “That extra time, while it may not be every game, it is frequent enough to have a cumulative effect of wear and tear. Couple that with games ending between 9 and 9:30 on a school night, I just see no need for OT in the regular season.”

Some coaches see merit in both sides.

“I’m torn,” Kiski Area boys coach Ben Fiore said. “The competitor in me wants to keep it in hopes that a goal is scored. I feel there should be an outright winner to every contest, and I hate draws. However, for the health and longevity of the players, I agree with it being removed. Especially since in the regular season, if no goal is scored in OT, it doesn’t even go to a PK shootout. If that were even the case, I may be for it, but it ends in a draw anyway.”

Fiori said preserving players for the playoffs also is a factor.

Derek Cuthbert, the girls coach at Greensburg Central Catholic, has only 11 girls on his team this season. Recovery days are vital to teams that small. Overtime games can wear more tread from the tires.

“A tie is a tie,” he said. “It’s part of the game anywhere else in the world. I like (the idea of change). Asking more from players with extra time, with a game perhaps the next day or day after, it’s a lot. An opportunity to rest, I feel, is important.”

Yeschenko said depth is not a major issue within his team, per se, but the starters are usually the ones who decide games in overtime.

“When you read the paper, almost each coach makes the comment, ‘If we can stay healthy,’ ” the coach said. “Teams that end up playing two, three, four times per week gives players very little time to recover and makes it more challenging to find time to continue to teach and coach the game.

“Given the speed and physicality of high school soccer, it is important to have the proper players in their role. Playing in OT, it really forces you to continue on running with your top 11 or 12 players. As one of the smallest schools in 3A boys soccer, that does add a physical burden on your primary players and increases the risk of injuries.”

Bill Beckner Jr. is a TribLive reporter covering local sports in Westmoreland County. He can be reached at bbeckner@triblive.com.

Tags: Belle Vernon, Burrell, Greensburg C.C., Latrobe