Simi Valley Soccer Victory in Doubt

The outcome of a girls’ Marmonte League soccer match between Simi Valley and Royal high schools will be decided today when the schools’ principals meet at Simi Valley.

David Ellis and his counterpart at Royal, David Jackson, will determine whether the Jan. 5 match will be recorded as a 3-1 victory for Simi Valley or a 1-1 tie.

The match, played on an unlit field at Simi Valley, ended in a 1-1 tie, but overtime was not permitted because of darkness, according to Terry Dobbins, Royal’s athletic director.

Both schools agreed to continue the contest Jan. 7, and Simi Valley won the extended match. But Cal Houston, the Ventura County liaison for the Southern Section, declared the overtime invalid based on a national high school federation rule, Royal Coach Kevin Corley said.

The rule states that a soccer match may not be continued on another day and that the score at the time the match was called stands as the final.

The principals, athletic directors and coaches were unaware of the national rule when they agreed to continue the match.

“There wouldn’t have been an agreement if we had known the rules,” Dobbins said.