Bentonville High's girls soccer team must forfeit seven matches following the completion of an internal investigation.

Bentonville athletic director Scott Passmore made the announcement Tuesday afternoon via email after it was found the Lady Tigers had used an ineligible player. Passmore said the investigation, which lasted "a couple of weeks," focused on a residency violation according to Arkansas Activities Association guidelines.

"We double-checked everything during the investigation," Passmore said. "We wanted to make sure we were following the rules, and we found out we were in violation."

The matches Bentonville must forfeit are nonconference matches against Fort Smith Southside, Edmond (Okla.) North, Bentonville West, Southmoore (Okla.), Russellville, Greenwood and the 6A-West Conference opener against Springdale Har-Ber. That causes the Lady Tigers' record to go from 15-2 to 9-8 following Tuesday's win over Van Buren.

The conference forfeit means Bentonville is 7-2 in league play and puts the Lady Tigers two matches behind leader Rogers High with five matches remaining. Har-Ber, meanwhile, improves to 4-5 with the forfeit and a 1-0 win Tuesday over Rogers Heritage and has a three-match lead over Springdale High in the chase for the sixth and final spot in the state tournament.

"We regret that this happened," Passmore said. "But our girls soccer team will continue to play and compete for a conference title and a spot in the state tournament."
