04/20/24
November 06, 2009
Women's Soccer Playoff Turns Ugly: The women's soccer semifinals of the Mountain West Conference between the Brigham Young Cougars and New Mexico Lobos featured such bad sportsmanship that it made ESPN SportsCenter. One dirty shot by Lobos defender Elizabeth Lambert may singlehandedly revive interest in the Dorothy Hamill haircut among female athletes.
That was a disgrace. If all of that had happened on a pitch during a men's game there would be public outrage. And I agree that the refs were non-existent apparently. Lambert should be suspended fro the team.
posted by THX-1138 at 01:09 PM on November 06, 2009
On several levels this disgusts me more than the Spikes eye gouge, maybe because its sustained dirty play over such a prolonged period and much of it seems premeditated.
I sincerely hope that her school and her coach levy some pretty severe sanctions for her actions. Of course maybe having your thug behavior aired on national tv for all your family and friends to see is a good start.
posted by irunfromclones at 01:13 PM on November 06, 2009
Some advice to Ms. Lambert: Shave your head and order a mouthpiece.
posted by eccsport78 at 01:16 PM on November 06, 2009
On several levels this disgusts me more than the Spikes eye gouge
I was thinking the same thing. This was a complete disgrace.
posted by BornIcon at 01:21 PM on November 06, 2009
I was thinking that Elizabeth Lambert and Brandon Spikes would make some beautifully unsportsmanlike babies. But those two probably mate like Klingons.
posted by rcade at 01:24 PM on November 06, 2009
Wowzers that was hardcore! The elbow and the punch was a bit much but HOLY COW the hair pull. And MAN did she ever sell it like death too!
posted by Drood at 02:08 PM on November 06, 2009
Lambert suspended. I think she was just preparing for her career with WWE, but somebody forgot to tell her that it's not supposed to be that real.
posted by graymatters at 02:42 PM on November 06, 2009
WWE wouldn't hire her. She actually appears to have talent.
posted by Drood at 02:48 PM on November 06, 2009
Yeah, so, I'm thinking "how bad could this be" and, holy cats, its really bad. Worst sportsmanship I've seen in any sport this year.
posted by Joey Michaels at 03:03 PM on November 06, 2009
It's time for the NHL style enforcer to make an appearance in women's soccer. The game should be self-policed! Of course, Stu Grimson himself mmight hesitate to take on that kind of beast.
skulks off with trollish smirk
posted by tahoemoj at 03:28 PM on November 06, 2009
Is anyone else surprised by how ESPN is covering this? It's strange to me they have an HD feed of a women's college soccer game when half the sports on TV still be struggling to get that together, then they single out one player and follow her around for a good minute or two, which is the amount of time Sportscenter devotes to big pro games. I realize she was nasty out there, but that kind of crap goes on in all sports at most every level. They make a point of showing she gets cracked first but then only show clips of her retaliating. Were there honestly no other incidents involving other players?
This wouldn't have made Sportscenter if it was a men's game and their treatment of it has a Rashomon-feel that suggests someone is a BYU grad. Steve Young probably paid for the cameras. Also, spare me the idea that what she did is worse than trying to gouge someone's eyes.
posted by yerfatma at 03:47 PM on November 06, 2009
It is a little strange ESPN was so hot and heavy on this. Maybe it was all staged and the network got the tipoff beforehand -- "Hey, bring out the good cameras and we'll put on a show!"
Also ... it was kinda hot.
Rashomon ... they make those little boilable noodle packs, right?
posted by wfrazerjr at 03:59 PM on November 06, 2009
The elbow and the punch was a bit much but HOLY COW the hair pull. And MAN did she ever sell it like death too!
Dude, take another look at the hair pull. Her neck was stretched back which made it a more dangerous manuever than just a hair pull.
posted by BornIcon at 04:29 PM on November 06, 2009
"That's not the kind of player I am."
Unfortunately Ms Lambert, it is. Heat of the moment retaliation is one thing, but what you did was premeditated, repetitive and vicious. If you did it on the street, you'd be in court.
If any one of my players behaved like that, they would never play for the club or association again.
posted by owlhouse at 04:50 PM on November 06, 2009
Which proves my point about Australians just talking a tough game.
posted by yerfatma at 04:54 PM on November 06, 2009
Rashomon ... they make those little boilable noodle packs, right?
No, those are the little trading card monster things my 7 year old is so fond of.
posted by THX-1138 at 05:09 PM on November 06, 2009
Is anyone else surprised by how ESPN is covering this?
No, given that SportsCenter's coverage continues to make the ESPN Deportes team cringe.
Where's the ref? If you're going to play the hard-case centre-back, then you're either sneaky and get away with it, or blatant and go into the book. Blatant and getting away with it means the ref is AWOL.
posted by etagloh at 05:13 PM on November 06, 2009
But those two probably mate like Klingons.
I know what that's like.
posted by THX-1138 at 05:13 PM on November 06, 2009
Which proves my point about Australians just talking a tough game.
Well, fatty, there's being tough on the ball, and then there's Kevin Muscat.
posted by owlhouse at 05:28 PM on November 06, 2009
She shouldn't be suspended, she should be arrested. That was assault. A neck could've been broken. There's a vast difference between good hard play and what happened there.
posted by bobfoot at 02:43 AM on November 07, 2009
After hearing that Lambert has been indefinitely suspended from the program, I am shocked UNM's head coach was not suspended as well. The coach later made a statement saying Lambert's actions crossed the line of fair play and sportsmanship. Really? No kidding. So why didn't you substitute her out before it got really ugly? What in the world were you waiting for? The kid clearly snapped for whatever reason, and you continued to play her anyway? I think if I was the BYU coach, my anger would have been directed toward the NM coaching staff for letting it continue when the referee clearly wasn't putting a stop to it. Instead of recognizing she was out of control and removing her, she was allowed to continue and has now probably played her last college soccer game. Does Lambert deserve this punishment? Absolutely. Could it have been avoided early on and perhaps saved a student-athlete from doing further damage to other players as well as her own athletic career? Absolutely.
posted by eccsport78 at 05:39 AM on November 07, 2009
Owlie I saw Muscat and Melbourne against CCM last night, thanks to a certain barking puppy, he is a tough customer but his team were nowhere to be found in the second half.
posted by billsaysthis at 01:25 PM on November 07, 2009
Yeah, a bit of a surprise result, as Melbourne were going so well.
Kevin might be mellowing in his old age.
posted by owlhouse at 04:22 PM on November 07, 2009
Those actions probably deserve criminal charges. What the h*!! were the refs doing? I think I counted 6 maulings that each deserved a red card. Lambert has anger issues and should seek treatment. The refs should not be allowed to ref another game. The coach should have taken Lambert out of the game and sat her a$$ on the bench. Too many people failed the players, the league and the game of soccer.