A Glenelg High School soccer player was treated at Howard County General Hospital Friday night after she allegedly was punched in the throat by a player from a rival school as the teams were exchanging post-game handshakes.
The incident -- captured on videotape by another player's father -- marred a celebration after Glenelg's double-overtime upset of South River High School in the state playoffs.
Howard County police are investigating the incident. Neither they nor school officials could recall anything similar.
"One of the things that we try to remind the coaches to watch for is kids who sometimes spit in their hands or shove an elbow into an opposing player after shaking hands," said Don Disney, the county's coordinator of athletics. "But something like this? I can't remember anything."
Holly Degner, 17, a senior captain of the team, said she was struck in the throat by an opposing player while the two teams were lined up exchanging handshakes after Glenelg's 2-1 victory, her parents said.
"I think it caught everyone off guard. She was just decked," Mr. Disney said. "The other girls were totally in shock about it."
Holly, who minutes earlier had assisted on the game-winning goal, walked off the field, complaining of having trouble breathing and speaking.
After lying on the ground near the team bench for almost 40 minutes and delaying the start of a boys' soccer playoff game, she was taken to Howard County General Hospital, where she was treated and released.
An orthopedic surgeon is scheduled to examine Holly today, but she is unlikely to receive medical clearance to play in tonight's regional final against Oakland Mills High School, said her father, Bruce Degner.
"Holly's been cheated out of the victory celebration and a chance to play in the next game," he said. "The team's worked the entire season for this, and now she's not going to play. . . . It's going to break her heart."
An Anne Arundel county school athletics official said yesterday afternoon that he was not aware of the incident, and officials at South River High did not return phone calls.
Neither the South River High coach nor the player who allegedly hit Holly have contacted her since Friday night's game, Mr. Degner said.
The videotape of the incident has already been given to Howard County police, and Mr. Degner said copies also will be sent to Anne Arundel school officials and to the state high school athletic commission.
With 5,500 county high school students competing in more than 3,100 athletic events each year, fights are not uncommon, Mr. Disney said. But most occur during games and result in ejections.
This summer, the county school board responded to a spate of assaults on high school coaches last winter by adopting a strict set of guidelines to punish students involved in such incidents.
Any investigation or punishment of the player who allegedly hit Holly will be up to Anne Arundel County, said Patti Caplan, a spokeswoman for Howard County schools.