Saturday night’s contest between Eastbrook and Marion produced a hard-fought, well-played affair between two evenly matched teams.
But while the match featured several highlight-reel plays, the ending will be forever mired in dispute.
With the match tied at 1-1 with just over six minutes to go, a referee’s whistle on a supposed dead ball caused the Giants to stop in their tracks. However, the ball was not actually dead, and the Panthers kept playing. Thus, Marion was caught out of position, leaving Eastbrook sophomore Andrew Diller alone with nothing but the goal in front of him.
Seconds later, Diller pushed one the game-winning goal past Marion goalkeeper Malik Smith, securing the controversial 2-1 triumph under the lights of Dick Lootens Stadium.
“We have had it happen to us before where the ball is dead and you think it’s dead and you are waiting for something and people just go,” Eastbrook Head Coach Adam Hallis said. “I actually didn’t see it because I was going to shout some instructions, and I saw [Diller] going and I just told him, ‘keep going.’” I’ll be honest, if I were them, I [too] would have come out and asked about it.”
While the Eastbrook sideline celebrated, the Marion sideline fumed. Coaches and players pleaded their case, claiming that it was an inadvertent whistle and that the goal should have not been allowed. The goal was eventually upheld, and the Panthers held on for the victory.
“The ball is 10 yards away and he is coming from behind,” Marion Head Coach Jorge Berry said. “[The official] wasn’t facing the play; he was out of it. By them playing it where they did was an unfair advantage. They try the best they can. Things like this happen. If that would have happened to Adam, I’m sure he would have been complaining as well. That’s just part of the game.”
The game’s final six minutes sullied what had been an exciting contest – one that the Giants had dominated for most of the second half. Led by Kyle Coryea, who scored the game-tying goal on a penalty kick, and JD Fagan, the Giants maintained consistent offensive pressure in the final 40 minutes, coming away with several high-level scoring chances.
“What’s hard is that we are going to remember a PK, we are going to remember that, but we aren’t going to remember two good teams playing,” Hallis said. “Marion played their hearts out. It took a lot to contain them. We had our chances, but they amped it up. Kyle and JD are great, and luckily, they didn’t get on anything. We just got to be on the plus-one side this time.”
Eastbrook controlled most of the play in the opening half, scoring the game’s first goal in the opening 10 minutes. Lucas Shilts sent a free kick towards the Marion goal, and the ball ended up on the left foot of Bryan Popoca, who fired it past Smith for the 1-0 lead.
However, the Giants started to assert themselves late in the half, passing the ball fluidly and keeping the Eastbrook defense on its heels.
With 26:14 remaining in the contest, Coryea was fouled hard in the box, leading to a penalty kick opportunity. Moments later, he converted, tying the contest at 1-1.
Marion continued to dominate play, finishing with six shots in the final 40 minutes, five of which were on goal, but Diller’s questionable tally proved to be the difference.
Marion held a slight 11-10 edge in total shots and a 9-8 advantage in shots on frame. Eastbrook goalkeeper Sam Spiegal made four saves, while Smith collected three for Marion.
For Eastbrook, it was a strong first week. Despite making several adjustments to their formation heading into the 2020 campaign, they shut out a rebuilding Wabash squad and escaped with a one-goal triumph over a Grant County rival.
“I think it’s huge,” Hallis said. “We opened up with Wabash, who is improving, but then you get those teams like Marion. They have always been good; they are always going to be well coached and have great players. To come out and [see our system work] …it was good to see. It was very encouraging.”
On the other side, Berry believes that his team has improved dramatically since the Jamboree. He hopes that his team will move on from this contest, despite its questionable finale, and keep coming together and growing as a unit.
“We are 10 times the team we were last Saturday, and we are five times the team we were on Wednesday,” Berry said. “We are still making those strides forward even though we aren’t winning. We just have to roll with that. We’ve got to get this game out of our head.”