Soccer can be a tough game and it appears that's especially true in the Mountain West Conference. Footage of the conference semifinal game in Provo, Utah – where BYU beat New Mexico 1-0 – has been making the rounds and not for all the right reasons.

Why is it that the only times women’s sports make the nightly news is when the players cross the line? Last summer, an on-court brawl between the Detroit Shock and the Los Angeles Sparks was front page news. Now game footage of the BYU – New Mexico match is being rerun on ESPN and major network news shows.

The two teams in question combined for what would seem like a stunning 25 fouls, however according to The Sporting Blog, that’s actually not a huge number:

In the three games of last year’s Women’s Final Four, there were 23, 24, and 33 fouls. The shocker is that only one yellow card came out in this game, which seems wildly out of proportion to the amount of brutality in the above video.

In the aforementioned game, a yellow card eventually went to Lobo Elizabeth Lambert. Her bio says she “is fearless when making a challenge,” which is apparent when viewing the game footage. But more importantly, where were the refs during this game? And if why hasn't anyone noted that if the behaviour was by a guy - it would barely be a blip on anyone's radar.

Today, University of New Mexico head women’s soccer coach Kit Vela announced that the junior defender has been suspended indefinitely for her actions in Thursday’s match.

“I am deeply and wholeheartedly regretful for my actions,” said Lambert. “My actions were uncalled for. I let my emotions get the best of me in a heated situation. I take full responsibility for my actions and accept any punishment felt necessary from the coaching staff and UNM administration. This is in no way indicative of my character or the soccer player that I am. I am sorry to my coaches and teammates for any and all damages I have brought upon them. I am especially sorry to BYU and the BYU women’s soccer players that were personally affected by my actions. I have the utmost respect for the BYU women’s soccer program and its players.”

While the actions clearly crossed the line of fair play and good sportsmanship, and so was somehow deemed newsworthy, we’d also like to see coverage of the thousands of examples of great sports action. Why aren’t those replays included in the nightly news?

View Original Post at prettytough.com

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• Soccer, Sports, SportsPLUS, College, Student-Athlete, Sexism