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Show n - .- i '-. - . i ' '' ... . -V' , r - -" fc, . - ' M s V : . ' J" i ".. . ... V - ."-",' -;,,,. O -"T-V, ' pnolo by David Hampshire Nettie Franzen (left), the stalwart of the Silver Kicks' fullback line for several seasons, appeared for the last time in a Park City uniform May 21 . Coach posing as referee can't help Silver Kicks by DAVE ADLER Record staff writer The Park City Silver Kicks have endured a lot of adversity this season in the form of tough losses, blowouts, and occasional personnel shortages. But scheduling and officiating haven't been problems until recently. The Park City ladies soccer team was originally scheduled to play Allemania of Salt Lake City on May 18, but the match didn't come off. The two teams took a stab at playing , on May 20, but that didn't work either. When they finally met on Tuesday, May 21, there were no officials, but they played anyway, and the Silver Kicks endured a 3-0 loss on the high school soccer field. Silver Kicks coach Garry Moore offered his perspective on the bizarre affair: "It was a mess," he said. "We shouldn't have played, and I shouldn't have served as a referee." Vi The "game 'with Allemania -had (been slated originally for 1:30 p.m. Saturday, May 18, according to Moore. But the visiting team arrived in the morning, expecting the game to begin at 11:30 a.m. "There was a lack of communication communica-tion between the teams and the league office (Utah Soccer Association)," Associa-tion)," said Moore. "Allemania had only nine players and they figured they stood a good chance of losing. So they looked for a way out. "They tried to get a couple of our players, who were at the field early watching their kids play soccer, to sign a sheet indicating they were ready to play but that Park City wasn't there. They wanted us to sign so they could avoid a forfeit when they left early. "Nobody signed the sheet, thank God, and under league procedures they should've forfeited for having left before playing the game," said Moore. "But we figured we'd be nice, and we wanted to play anyway, so we tried to reschedule the game," Moore said. "So I suggested to their coach, Laura Olsen, that we play Monday. But she said they couldn't because one of their key players would be gone. "I said, 'You'll be missing just one player. We're always missing players for our games,' but figured we'd try Tuesday, the 21st, which we did," said Moore. "Laura said she'd call the league 'office and arrange for the officials so that I wouldn't have to make any long distance calls. "Come game day, I see her and ask where are the officials? She said she couldn't get them on the phone," said Moore. "I couldn't believe it, so we had a choice of playing without officials or not playing." So Moore agreed to referee the game, but said afterward it was "definitely a mistake." "For one person to try to officiate on a 110 by 55 yard field is absurd. You can't see much and you're trying to caH-the game from the full length of the field." Moore's officiating hurt the Silver Kicks, not because he was making bad calls but because he was absent from the sideline and unable to coach the team. Moore, who assumed coaching responsibilities just three weeks ago, said this game was a "setback for us. We've been getting ourselves together, having some pretty good practices and playing well in the games, but his one hurt." The Silver Kicks, now 2-11-1 on the year but 1-1-1 since Moore took over the coaching reins, battled the visitors a 0-0 tie at the end of the first half. The deluge came midway in the second half when Allemania struck for three quick goals. "Our team was getting tired by then," said Moore. So was the coach-referee who, in his' J officiating duties had been' running. 1 0 0 - yard ; s p rihts ' e very-'' two' minutes." Barring further scheduling problems, prob-lems, the Silver Kicks will play three games in five days beginning on June 3 against some of the top competition in the league. On June 3, the team travels to Orem to meet the third-best squad in the league. On June 6, the Silver Kicks will host league-leading Pan World, and on June 8, Orem pays a visit to Park City. |