Head coach Jill Ellis’ day-long anxiety dissolved into
relief when X-rays showed sophomore Stacy Lindstrom’s ankle
injury was less severe than originally feared.
Lindstrom, a starting midfielder on the No. 3 UCLA women’s
soccer team, sustained a high ankle sprain in the second half
against Stanford on Friday night but expects to practice later this
week.
“Nothing’s broken at all,” said Lindstrom, who
left Maloney Field on crutches and had worn a boot until visiting
the doctor on Monday.
“I’m going to sit out practice (today) and then ease
my way back into it on Wednesday. It’s great news.”
The diagnosis had to ease Ellis’ nerves after she spent
the past three days worrying whether the team would be without
Lindstrom ““ perhaps the team’s most consistent
midfielder ““ for an extended period of time.
“She went down squealing, and we just thought, “˜Oh
shit,'” Ellis said. “She twisted her ankle, but
the pain shot up to her knee so we really didn’t know what to
think.”
Lindstrom is one of a trio of Bruins that sustained potentially
serious injuries over the weekend. Reserve forward Katie Rivera and
starting goalkeeper Sarah Lombardo each suffered knee injuries.
Both players underwent MRIs Monday afternoon, but results were not
available as of Monday night.
If Rivera’s MRI shows ligament damage, it would be the
sophomore’s third serious knee injury since her senior year
of high school.
“Obviously, we’re still anxious to find out
what’s going on with Sarah and Katie,” Ellis said.
“We’re crossing our fingers that neither injury is
serious.”
Regardless of the status of Rivera and Lombardo, Ellis is
ecstatic that Lindstrom will likely be in uniform Friday against
Arizona State.
With the team fighting to maintain its position atop the Pac-10
standings, having Lindstrom in the lineup is critical.
“There are players on the field that are crucial to our
success,” Ellis said. “We have to have Whitney Jones on
the field. We have to have Nandi Pryce, and we have to have Stacy
Lindstrom. She’s one of the best midfielders in the
Pac-10.”
Lindstrom’s stats (one goal, two assists) are not
overwhelming, but the numbers do not demonstrate her value to the
team. Lindstrom is a stalwart defensively for the Bruins and rarely
makes poor decisions with the ball.
Without her in the lineup Sunday, the Bruin backline struggled
against the Cal attack, yielding countless scoring opportunities in
the game’s final 20 minutes.
“We missed Stacy a lot on Sunday,” Ellis said.
“She covers a lot of ground, and she wins balls. She’s
playing the best soccer of her life.”
With the playoffs less than a month away, Lindstrom was as
relieved as her coach to hear the good news.
“I’m really lucky,” she said. “I thought
it was a torn ACL.”
Fortunately for the Bruins, it was not.