Steele Canyon High School Women's Soccer

Officials steal show from Granite Hills, Steele Canyon Special to EastCountySports.com EL CAJON - Less than 24 hours after a Valley League game was suspended in the North County due to what the referee ruled was unruly fans, strangeness continued in girls soccer when one of the referees walked out of Wednesday's (Jan. 29) Grossmont South League contest at Valley Stadium. Granite Hills won the game, defeating Steele Canyon 5-2, but not before the flap between referees. With about two minutes left in the first half, the referee situated along the Steele Canyon sideline called a foul on the Cougars. Seconds later, the coach standing just a few yards away was issued a yellow card, then a red card. That's when the fun began. The referee located along the Granite Hills sidelined came across the field, and not only over-ruled the foul, but rescinded both cards as well. Following a brief discussion among the officials, the young referee ripped off his jersey and marched off the field. Not only did the remaining official work the game solo, he also headed the following boys varsity match between the schools with the aid of a pair of volunteer linesmen from the stands. "The referees should be a team and work together," said Cougars coach CHARLIE CLEAVES, who was unaware about the red card until after the match. "It was embarrassing." Granite Hills coach SAMI NEDJAR noted he had never seen anything like it in all of his years in coaching. He called the incident "unfortunate for the players." Despite losing to the powerful Eagles, Steele Canyon continues to show signs that they will be a team to contend with in the near future. "We are a young team and we're trying to make the program at Steele Canyon stronger," said sophomore LISA MIX, who scored both Cougars' goals. The Cougars (7-5, 0-2) stayed close in the first half, trailing only 3-2 at the break. However, the Eagles controlled the midfield over the final 40 minutes to pull away. Senior COURTNEY STOLIS also notched a pair of goals for the Eagles. After TAHNEE FRANCEL gave the Eagles an early lead, Mix tied it off an assist from REBECCA SANDERS. HOWNAZ ZANGANA and Stolis scored within a 2:50 span for a 3-1 Eagles lead, but Mix answered with a goal on a breakaway in the 34th minute, thanks to an excellent lead pass from COURTNEY CLEAVES. Stolis scored her second goal in the 44th minute, then JOYCE O'LEARY capped the scoring with five minutes left, as soph ELLIE MAGDALENO garnered her second assist of the game.