Moment: Novi's Fenchel Finds Way

May 8, 2020

By Geoff Kimmerly
Second Half editor

Through the first six games and 76 more minutes of the 2018 Division 1 Girls Soccer Tournament, Grand Blanc hadn’t given up a goal.

But with the championship game rolling toward the end of regulation, Avery Fenchel capitalized on a rare opportunity.

Fenchel, then a sophomore, took advantage of a defensive miscommunication in front of the Bobcats’ net and fired the winning shot with 3:29 to play to give Novi a 1-0 advantage on the way to its sixth Division 1 championship. (That total stands at seven now after the Wildcats’ repeat in 2019).

“I was just running after it, and it just went into the back of the goal,” Fenchel said that day. “I just turned around and ran towards my team. I was so excited.”

Click for coverage from Second Half and watch the game winner below from the NFHS Network.

Be the Referee: Soccer Disallowed Goal

By Sam Davis
MHSAA Director of Officials

October 21, 2021

Be The Referee is a series of short messages designed to help educate people on the rules of different sports, to help them better understand the art of officiating, and to recruit officials.

Below is this week's segment – Soccer Disallowed Goal - Listen

A soccer team is racing towards the opponent’s goal, and after a couple of nice passes, they find the back of the net for a one-nothing lead.

As soon as the goal celebration starts, the coach of the team that scored excitedly motions for one of his players to come off the field. The assistant referee sees and hears this and counts the number of players on the field – and he realizes that the scoring team had 12 players on the field at the time of the goal. What’s the call?

The referee should disallow the goal because there were too many players on the field, and re-start the game with a goal kick by the team that was scored on. The extra player on the field receives a yellow card, and the score is back to 0-0 … or nil-nil.

Previous editions

Sept 30: Field Goal Falls Short - Listen
Sept. 23: Volleyball Obstruction - Listen
Sept. 16: Catch or No Catch Listen
Sept. 9: Intentional Grounding – Listen 
Sept. 2: Pass Interference – Listen 
Aug. 26: Protocols and Mechanics  Listen