Woman ref keeps pace with the men

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Husson College freshman midfielder Adam Heaslewood did a double take prior to a recent 3-0 win over Unity College in Bangor. One of the two people he saw approaching the field in a referee’s outfit was a woman named Dianne Degnen.

“I said `Oh my God. I don’t believe it,’ ” recalled Heaslewood, an Englishman who had never seen a female referee.

Heaslewood was pleasantly surprised.

“She was one of the best referees I’ve seen since I’ve been in this country,” said Heaslewood. “She lets the game flow. She’s not too quick to stop the game for unnecessary free kicks. She knew what was happening. And she was having as much fun as we were. She wasn’t on a power trip.”

“I was really impressed with her,” said Husson senior midfielder Gary Thompson. “She does a better job than a lot of the men we get.”

Husson fullback Al Tripp received a yellow card from Degnen, but he had no qualms with her decision and considers her a quality official.

“I said something I shouldn’t have, and she gave me a warning,” said Tripp. “Later on, I again said something I shouldn’t have, and she gave me a yellow card. I deserved it. She doesn’t put up with any bull.”

Degnen is a rarity in the world of men’s college soccer.

Female referees are few and far between. Degnen is one of only three women in the state who can referee men’s games. The others are Rita Brown and Nancy Dugas from southern Maine.

Degnen, who also works women’s college games and schoolboy and schoolgirl soccer games, admits she has observed some raised eyebrows when she has shown up in her dark referee’s gear for a college men’s game. She understands that some of the players, coaches and fans are skeptical about a woman referee.

“I get tested more at the men’s college level than at the other levels because they haven’t seen me as much. And the coaches and players are a little more cocky. They think I’m going to call the game a lot closer and allow less contact because I’m a woman,” said Degnen.

“They’ll make some comments on my first few calls,” she addded. “They’ll say, `Let us play the game.’ But as the game progresses and they see that I allow legal contact, I won’t get those comments.”

“She’s definitely one of the best referees we’ve had in the state of Maine,” said Maine Maritime Academy coach Bill Ashby. “She has a good feel for the game and a good understanding of it. She knows when to make a call and when to let us play on. She keeps a nice flow going.”

“That’s something you develop over the years,” explained Degnen. “Over the last four or five years, I’ve developed some confidence in being able to determine legal contact from illegal contact. It takes a few years to be able to confidently make that decision. You don’t want to rush into a call when you see contact. You’ve got to determine if there was an advantage gained.”

Degnen has been officiating soccer games for 12 years and has done men’s games for the last six. She has worked as a linesman for Division I games but has yet to referee a Division I men’s game.

“That’s my secret goal,” said Degnen. “I’m comfortable where I am now. I really enjoy the game. I’m not sure if (Division I players and coaches) are ready for me yet.

“But if you don’t have a higher goal, you get stalemated,” added Degnen. “I’d love that challenge but it wouldn’t break my heart if it doesn’t happen for a few years.”

There is a significant difference between doing small college games and Division I games. Small college games use two referees and no linesman as opposed to the Division I system that uses one referee and two linesmen.

In either case, there’s a lot of running involved.

“In a men’s game, you can’t relax at all,” said Degnen. “Even throw-ins happen so fast. There’s no time for lapses. It’s exhausting to concentrate that long.”

Degnen has had a love affair with soccer for a long time. But she has never played organized soccer.

“We didn’t have a girls soccer team in (Proctor High School in Vermont), and I played field hockey at the University of Vermont because they didn’t have a soccer team, either,” said Degnen.

She graduated from UVM with a degree in wildlife biology in 1980 and moved to Vassalboro, where she began officiating soccer and basketball. But she prefers soccer to basketball.

“I like soccer a lot more. Part of it has to do with more open space,” said the 35-year-old Degnen. “Soccer is a game that is intended not to stop. The faster you put a ball back in play in soccer, the more advantageous it is to your team. And there’s less opportunity to harrass the officials. There’s a lot of clock stoppage in basketbaosed room. There’s a lot more opportunity to take abuse.”

She enjoys the running in soccer as well as the fall season. She begins jogging to get in shape for the next soccer season as soon as the snow leaves the ground in the spring.

Degnen has estimated that she runs approximately 12 miles when she referees a college game.

“She keeps herself in very good shape,” said Bill Adams, the assigner for the Central Maine board. “Her time has come. She handles herself well. She’s strong, and she doesn’t take any grief from anybody. She’s also a very pleasant person who listens to recommendations.”

Degnen, who referees a game nearly every day of the week during the fall, has found women’s college soccer games just as exciting as the men’s games.

“But I enjoy high school boys games more than high girls games,” said Degnen. “There’s a much bigger difference between high school boys and girls games than there is between college men’s and women’s games.”

She said she gets an “exhiliarating feeling” out of making a lot of good calls and keeping a good flow going in a game. She also enjoys a game with good sportsmanship.

Degnen, who is the president of the Central Maine Soccer Officials’ Association, doesn’t have a full-time job but does some waitressing and helps run a farm.

Her husband, Greg Johnson, runs a sawmill business. She lends a hand in that endeavor. “I’m the board stacker,” joked Degnen who lives with her husband in Exeter.