Ineligible Player Eliminates Poly

Poly High was removed from the City Section boys’ soccer playoffs Tuesday after using an ineligible player in a 1-0 quarterfinal victory over Birmingham on Friday.

The third-seeded Parrots, the highest remaining seeded team in the section playoffs, were scheduled to host 10th-seeded Bell in a semifinal Tuesday.

Instead, 11th-seeded Birmingham will play at Bell at 3 p.m. today.

City Section Commissioner Barbara Fiege said the player, identified by several sources as reserve defender Carlos Rodriguez, was ineligible because he is overage.

City rules stipulate any student who turns 19 before Sept. 1, 1997, is ineligible for athletic competition.

Poly Athletic Director Kim McEwen said Rodriguez falsified his age on paperwork when he joined the team in January.

McEwen was on vacation at the time and neither Coach Win Hainbuch nor an administrator performing McEwen’s duties verified Rodriguez’s age.

McEwen said she discovered Rodriguez’s age Monday when she made an eight-week eligibility check.

“Nobody would have known if I hadn’t said anything but I couldn’t let it go,” McEwen said. “[Rodriguez] lied to the coach’s face and he kept it going right until the end.”

Rodriguez played briefly in several games, McEwen said. The Parrots won the Valley Pac-8 Conference but will forfeit all victories in which he played.

McEwen said the team’s players were “devastated” when notified Tuesday.

“They don’t understand why it happened but I told them we had to tell the truth,” McEwen said.

Birmingham has advanced in the playoffs twice by forfeit.

Roosevelt defeated the Braves in the second round but the Roosevelt coach was ejected midway through the game. City Section rules dictate a coach’s ejection automatically results in a forfeit.

Birmingham continued play against Roosevelt under protest and after initially losing in overtime, was awarded the victory and advanced to the quarterfinals.