Rio Mesa Penalized for Ineligible Player

The Rio Mesa High boys’ soccer team has forfeited last week’s Channel League victory over Ventura for using a player involved in a non-high school soccer event during the season.

Spartan Coach Brent Kruk said his team, which defeated Ventura, 4-0, on Tuesday, forfeited that result Friday as directed by the Southern Section and dropped to 7-4-1 and 0-3 in league play. The player responsible is a senior starter who participated in an outside event Sunday.

Kruk declined to identify the player by name but said he has scored 16 goals and has been suspended by the school for this week’s league games against Oxnard and Buena for lying about his action to a Rio Mesa administrator.

Kruk said he is disappointed in the Southern Section’s ruling because the event the player participated in was not put on by an organized league.

“It was a charity event open to anyone in the community,” Kruk said. “They had jerseys and [officials] to prevent chaos but because he was asked to play two days before it, the [Southern Section] saw that as premeditated and worth a forfeit.”