By Michael Letendre   

BRISTOL – This season, the CIAC made a big change in the championship format when it comes to the championship round of scholastic soccer.   

And for the first time, there won’t be any co-champions on title day.   

Last season, two championship games ended in stalemates, giving two different schools a share of a state title.   

In the Class LL and M girls title tilts in 2021, the teams from Staples and Wilton were named Class LL co-champs as were Mercy/Sacred Heart in the M title tilt.   

The ties and co-titles were detrimental to the championship round and the CIAC made the right decision to figure out tie breaking criteria to determine the ultimate winner.   

But what about during regular season play?   

Since the pandemic, overtime has not been part of scholastic contests as eighty-minute stalemates are considered draws in the end.   

But how do local coaches feel about ties after eighty minutes of play in which the result does not determine a clear winner?   

“I like no overtime,” said Eastern coach Scott Redman earlier in the season. “We’ve had eighty minutes to find a winner. Ten more minutes allows for a hectic time when typically, the more experienced teams, or deeper teams, have an additional opportunity to find the winner. Without penalty kicks after the overtime, I do not see the value.”   

Redman was even more specific for why he was not a fan of an extra ten minutes on the pitch.   

The longtime coach quickly countered that ties are part of the fabric of scholastic soccer and then mentioned how an extra couple sessions could risk added injury – especially after eighty minutes of soccer warfare.   

How about a practical regular season application to determine if overtime should be part of a standard regular season match?   

Last Thursday evening, the girls soccer programs from Bristol Central and Bristol Eastern absolutely left it all on the pitch over a grueling contest of turf warfare.   

And by the completion of regulation, neither team had scored as the bout ended in a 0-0 stalemate.   

Now, would Central coach Vicki Malick, or Redman for that matter, want another ten minutes put back on the clock to see if one of the teams could finally break through?   

“I don’t know. It’s hit or miss,” said Malick about overtime. “I mean, you’ve got to win it in the first eighty minutes. So, if you didn’t win it in the first eighty minutes, it is what it is.”   

“You’ve got to win it in the first eighty…don’t put yourself in position that you need to get to overtime.”   

Redman didn’t disagree after the bout against Central.   

“I don’t think overtime is necessary,” said Redman. “I would like another eighty minutes right now just because it’s Eastern/Central and the electric atmosphere, it’s an absolute gorgeous night, and I thought it was a really competitive game.”   

“I would have loved another ten minutes just to stand on the sidelines and watch and coach because it was a great atmosphere tonight.”   

NOTES…Plenty of alumni came to witness the BC/BE girls soccer showdown along with Bristol Soccer Club and Northeast Middle School players…“It was a great opportunity for the community to come together from both sides of town,” said Redman of the city series game. “It was a beautiful night [and] I would have loved ten more minutes just for that reason….it was a great game.”   

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