Sixteen members of the Pentucket Regional High School girls’ soccer team have been suspended from athletic events after some of the girls drank alcohol at a team event that took place at Boxford Police Chief James B. Riter’s house, the chief said.

Pentucket Superintendent Jeff Mulqueen wouldn’t confirm what actions led to the suspension, other than to say it was a violation of the Massachusetts Interscholastic Athletic Association’s Chemical Health Policy.

Riter, who has two daughters on the team, said the students had a sleepover at his house Saturday and one of the girls sneaked a handle of vodka into the home.

“We were keeping an eye on things. My wife and I checked on them continuously,’’ said Riter, who added that he didn’t find out about the alcohol until a school official called him Monday. “But at some point in time in the evening, someone apparently snuck a bottle of alcohol into our house.’’

The family doesn’t keep alcohol in the home, Riter said. He said he didn’t think every student participated in the drinking, but that the policy also prohibited being at an event where drinking takes place.

The girls range from freshmen to seniors and will miss 25 percent of the season, per the MIAA’s policy, Mulqueen said Wednesday. He said a report to the principal led to the suspension, which was handed down Tuesday.

Riter said he wasn’t aware of any mishaps as a result of the drinking, and that the students were mostly playing Xbox and Wii.

“The kids knew the consequences. They know the rules,’’ Riter said. “If the school is going to put these rules in place, they have to follow them and take responsibility for their actions.’’

The team is 2-5-2 this season, after a loss Saturday to Newburyport. Wednesday’s home match against Hamilton-Wenham is still scheduled to take place.

The suspended players will miss four contests over the next nine days, against Hamilton-Wenham, Amesbury, Ipswich, and Triton. The team has enough players to play its games without forfeiting. According to athletic director Dan Thornton, the roster will be made up of the remaining varsity players and promoted junior varsity players.

Freshmen players will replace the junior varsity players on their roster. The freshman team does not play the same day, so no games will be canceled. Pentucket needs to win two of its final nine contests to earn a playoff berth.

Mulqueen said the school is working to make sure similar events don’t happen in the future.

“I think districts and schools are confronted with these problems more than we’d like,’’ Mulqueen said. “What we’re doing is putting in place a combination of consequences and support so we can make sure this doesn’t happen again.’’

Globe correspondent Marisa Ingemi contributed to this report. Dylan McGuinness can be reached at dylan.mcguinness@globe.com. Follow him on Twitter @DylMcGuinness.