Skirmish ends another tough evening for CCHS
By Chris Burke
The frustration level for the CCHS girls soccer team may be close to boiling over.The Devilettes fell to 2-6-1 overall on Friday, dropping a 3-0 decision at Fauquier. In the waning seconds of that contest, a skirmish broke out between Culpeper's Mandy Martell and Fauquier's Ashleigh Scott.
Martell, racing for a ball, became entangled a Fauquier defender, sending both to the turf. Martell rose first, and lingered over the FHS player, holding her down briefly.
Scott raced over, then she and Martell exchanged blows. Those actions were deemed by the referee as a fight, leading to the matching ejections and two-game suspensions.
"I know Mandy and she can be aggressive, but she did not initiate the fight," CCHS coach Erick Kalenga said. "She got knocked down and she reacted.
"I'm not trying to minimize it, you should not retaliate, that's not good sportsmanship."
Culpeper played Osbourn Tuesday night minus Martell, one of the team's top scorers, and will do the same Thursday against Osbourn Park.
Fauquier's Scott, meanwhile, had to sit out Tuesday against Battlefield and Thursday versus Stonewall Jackson.
"I didn't see anything unusually rowdy during the game," Falcons' coach Greg McLeod said of Friday's FHS win. "My girls were blaming the Culpeper girls, and I'm sure the Culpeper girls were blaming my girls."
Regardless of who was to blame, the late tiff ended another disappointing night for the Devilettes.
Culpeper played well in forcing a 0-0 halftime tie at Fauquier, but struggled mightily in the second.
Martell's ejection was the topper on what has been a difficult Devilette season. It also added another chapter to the heated Culpeper-Fauquier rivalry.
"It's always a challenge between Fauquier and Culpeper," Kalenga said. "The game was intense."
His team's intensity, if nothing else, should come as a welcome sign for Kalenga.
He held a team meeting Monday, in an attempt to solve some issues that have plagued the Devilettes' lackluster campaign.
"We started together as a team and collapsed, due to some issues between players and what have you," Kalenga said. "I have very good individual players, but collectively, we are not a team."
For at least two games now, they will be even further fractured, with Martell's suspension.
But Kalenga had some positive, if ironic thoughts on his team's direction.
"We're going to fight strong," he said, metaphorically. "We're just going to try to get up and get it on."