Swope Park Rangers defender Tommy Meyer suspended six matches for stepping on opponent

Swope Park Rangers defender Tommy Meyer was suspended six games Monday after he stepped on an opposing player during the team’s 2-1 home playoff victory against Orange County FC a day earlier.

In the 88th minute Sunday, Meyer and Orange County’s Akwafei Ajeakwa got tangled along the sideline. After Meyer broke free, he dug his spikes into the upper leg of Ajeakwa as he stepped over him. Meyer was ejected from the match and bumped into the assistant referee as he left the field.

The United Soccer League disciplinary committee suspended Meyer three matches for the play — which the league referred to as a “studs-to-the-groin” incident — and added an additional three games for making contact with the assistant referee.

Meyer will miss the remainder of the USL postseason and also sit out matches to open the 2017 season.

Swope Park, the USL affiliate of Sporting Kansas City, will play host to Vancouver Whitecaps 2 in the Western Conference championship Saturday.

Swope Park defender Ever Alvarado also received a red card Sunday and will miss the weekend’s conference championship, per league rules.

This story was originally published October 10, 2016 at 4:08 PM with the headline "Swope Park Rangers defender Tommy Meyer suspended six matches for stepping on opponent."