Brawl ends men's soccer season

A game-ending brawl that forced the Richland College men's soccer team to forfeit two games also is costing them a shot at a national championship.

The National Junior College Athletic Association, the national governing body for junior college athletics, suspended the team for two games in response to an in-game fight with rival Mountain View College on Oct. 21.

The effect of the ruling, which was handed down on Oct. 24, was that Richland was not allowed to play its final regular season game on Oct. 26 or compete in the Region V championship on Oct. 29.

Richland has appealed the ruling but, so far, has had no success.

Neither the Richland men's coach, Sean Worley, nor the school's athletic director, Tony Summers, could be reached for comment.

The fight occurred at Richland College as the teams squared off for the second time this season.  Richland, which had defeated Mountain View, 6-0, earlier in the season, was leading 3-0 when the incident took place.

According to reports filed by the match official, multiple players from both teams left their benches and got involved in the altercation.

That, apparently, is what led to the entire team being suspended, according to the NJCCA.

"If anyone leaves the bench during a fight or altercation, they are immediately suspended from that game and the next two games," said John Green, the Region V Director of men's sports for the NJCAA.

"I did not see the game," Green said in a telephone interview. "I did not get any video tape of the game.  I got an official's report that stated that both team's benches emptied during the event.  The officials are the authority at the game."

Two days after the melee, Richland played another home game against Tyler Junior College on Oct. 23. Worley told a physical education class that he sat out at least two players involved in the fight, according to a student in the class.

However, the NJCAA ruled, because the official's game report stated that it was a bench-clearing event, all of the players were suspended for two games.

It was a devastating blow for Richland, a top-ranked team which was expected to compete for a national championship.  At one point, it was the No. 2 team in the nation this season.

The team has captured five national titles since 2002 and will miss the national tournament for only the second time in the past 10 seasons.