On Sunday afternoon, a Rutgers University women’s soccer game briefly turned into a mixed martial arts match.
During the Scarlet Knights’ match against the University of Massachusetts in Amherst, a tense brawl broke out due to a flagrant foul by Rutgers senior forward Zia Garman and University of Massachusetts senior forward Ashley Lamond.
The brawl happened in the 55th minute of a game that Rutgers ultimately lost 1-0 after Garman committed a foul on a Massachusetts player and Lamond quickly tried to play the ball after the call.
Garman seemed to take issue with this tactic.
Things escalated quickly from there, with Lamond shoving Garman, followed by punches being exchanged by both players and finally Garman throwing the UMass player to the ground.
Garman appeared to land an uppercut on Lamond while both were on the ground, but players from both teams ran over to try and stop what happened.
Lamond and Garman both received red cards and were ejected from the match.
Both Rutgers and Massachusetts teams finished the game with 10 players on the field and four yellow cards (two on each team) were issued in the final minutes of the game.
Rutgers University athletics spokesperson He told the Associated Press They were aware of the fight but did not immediately comment.
Rutgers game summary School website, They described the incident as a “quarrel.”
University of Massachusetts senior midfielder Bella Recinos scored the game-winning goal in the 81st minute.
According to NCAA rules, any red cards related to the brawl carry a two-game suspension.
Garman is in his fourth year of soccer at Rutgers University, appearing in 59 games and scoring four goals.
Rutgers and Massachusetts are not scheduled to play each other again this season, eliminating any possibility of another match between the two teams.
