Rutgers, UMass women’s soccer game devolves into brawl, punches fly

A Rutgers women’s soccer game turned into an MMA match briefly on Sunday afternoon. 

With the Scarlett Knights facing UMass in Amherst, a tense brawl broke out after a hard foul by Rutgers senior forward Gia Girman and UMass senior forward Ashley Lamond. 

The fight took place in the 55th minute of what ended up being a 1-0 loss for Rutgers after Girman fouled a UMass player and when Lamond came over to try and play the ball quickly after the call.

Girman seemed to take exception to the tactic. 

Things quickly escalated from there with Lamond shoving Girman and then punches were thrown both ways before Girman threw the UMass player to the ground. 

Girman appeared to land an uppercut on Lamond while the two were on the ground before players from both teams rushed in to break things up. 

Lamond and Girman were both given red cards and sent out of the game. 

Rutgers and UMass finished the game with 10 players a piece on the field and there were four yellow cards – two on each team – in the final minutes of the match. 

A spokesperson for Rutgers athletic department told the Associated Press that they were aware of the fight, but didn’t have an immediate comment. 

In the Rutgers’ game recap on the school’s website, they described the incident as a “scrap.” 

UMass senior midfielder Bella Recinos scored the game-winning goal in the 81st minute of the game. 

The red card related to the fight carries a two-game suspension, according to NCAA rules.

Girman is entering her fourth year playing soccer at Rutgers, where she has four goals in 59 appearances. 

Rutgers and UMass are not scheduled to play one another again this season, which eliminates any further potential for another fight between the two players.