The Goshen College men’s soccer team hosted the Grace College Lancers on Oct. 17. The Lancers defeated the Maple Leafs 5-0 in a Crossroads League battle at the John Ingold Athletic Complex. 

Following the Oct. 17 game, in response to frustration with the officiating, A few Goshen players threw dirt at the officials as they both left the complex.

Goshen head coach Dan Sullivan said, “Due to a series of events, the officials and our players were all leaving at the same time, and, due to the nature of the game and how it ended, at the time I just remember thinking, ‘That’s probably not good,’” Sullivan said. “I was not physically present — I was far enough away to what was happening that I didn’t know what was going on. There was just a lot of movement as the players and the referees were leaving the complex.”

“Obviously now as more information has come into me, it’s just a pretty high level of frustration and disappointment in the way our team reacted,” Sullivan said. “Regardless of how a game gets called — whether you agree with the officials rulings or whether they blow the whistle in your favor or not — that’s not an ‘okay’ to act inappropriately.” 

Sullivan said, “Everybody [on the team] shares the pain of recognizing that a mistake was made.” He said that extra running has been one of the consequences for all members of the team. “And then, when there are situations where individual players are acting more egregiously or out of line, the more individual punishments come in and typically, those consequences revolve around playing time and whether or not they see the pitch again.” 

At least two players were suspended for the final two games of their season. The formal misconduct report is said to still be ongoing.

When Goshen received word of the incident, the athletic administration took rapid action to prevent further transgressions. Chad Coleman, associate athletic director, said, “We want everybody to set an example for everybody, knowing that there are consequences for actions if you instigate or perpetuate a problem, or you’re contributing to it as a fan or athlete.”

“We try to put a point of emphasis on champions of character for the season with athletes because we had some incidents during games last year where fans got into it a little bit too much,” Coleman said.

Sullivan is optimistic about moving forward from this incident. “Certainly, when something like this happens, and an entire team has to pay the price for a few individuals’ misdeeds, it can certainly create some tension in the group, but it’s also an opportunity for the troop to rally around each other and hold each other up,” Sullivan said. “We’re all gonna make mistakes, so the question is how we respond and grow from those mistakes. Some of the guys can take it personal, or some can take it as an opportunity to help their teammates.”