I'm glad to see that after four seasons, MLS has decided to do away with the largely unpopular "shootout" as their unique way of deciding tied regular season games. Its not that I've got a problem with the shootout as a tiebreaker. On the contrary, when ties NEED to be broken its a more game-realistic way of doing so than penalty kicks. I just don't see why non-tournament games can't finish tied.
     All over the world, ties are part and parcel of the game of soccer. The only time that penalty shootouts become a factor are in knockout competitions, when time constraints and travel concerns demand that a winner be determined on the day.
     But in the regular season, when games finish all square, that's it. Game over. One point each. Well done everyone.
     In the US, baseball and basketball don't allow tied games, but now MLS has come into line with the NFL and the NHL in accepting ties after an additional overtime period. And I'm sure that soccer fans throughout the country will see the MLS in a more favorable light and as a more legitimate competition as a result.
     The same cannot be said of boys' high school soccer. The National Federation of State High School Associations, of which the Iowa High School Athletic Association (IHSAA) is part, mandates that penalty kicks be used to determine the winner of regular season games that are tied after two 40-minute halves, and two 10-minute sudden victory, overtime periods.
     I don't understand this need to crown an artificial winner if two teams, having battled honors-even for 100 minutes, cannot be separated by conventional scoring methods. Let the score stand. If the game does not have to have a winner, let the teams share the spoils.
     So, for those people at Saturday's Trojan Classic boys high school soccer tournament, philosophically, this is where I was coming from after City High's two 1-1 ties in the first and third games of the day.
     On a somewhat related topic, the professional game appears to be benefiting from  an incredible youth movement right now. The MLS  season is only two weekends old but already talented youngsters including Bobby Convey (16), and Chris Albright (17) of D.C. United, and DaMarcus Beasley (17) of the Chicago Fire, have seen action.
     Overseas, both Liverpool and Leeds United of the English Premier League, have reportedly bid $2.5 million for the services of 15 year old Cherno Samba, a striker with 2nd Division London club, Millwall.
     It's hard to imagine that these players are young enough to still be playing high school soccer. I wonder what they're like at taking penalties? 
 

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