In the second half of the No. 1 UCLA women’s soccer team’s 2-0 victory over No. 11 USC on Friday night, the Bruins suffered their first serious injury of the year when midfielder Caitlyn Mac Kechnie tore her ACL.
The sight of Mac Kechnie being carried off the field by the training staff exemplified the bad fortune the Bruins have had with injuries so far this season. Junior defender Erin Hardy had just returned to action the week before from an LCL sprain that sidelined her for three weeks. Then junior midfielder Catherine Calvert went down with an injured back in the first half that required her to sit out the remainder of the game. Finally came Mac Kechnie.
While Calvert’s injury is not a major issue and she is expected to play on Friday, Mac Kechnie’s is much worse, as the torn ACL will end her season.
“It’s a big blow, (we’re) obviously extremely disappointed,” coach Jill Ellis said. “Sad for her because she was having her best season to date. She’s a big, huge part of this team.”
Up until her injury, Mac Kechnie had been having a career year for the Bruins. Coming off the bench, she tallied four goals and seven assists in 15 games. Before this season, the junior had total of only four assists in her career.
“(She’s) a wonderful kid and any kid getting hurt is hard,” Ellis said. “You know, she was just playing such a great part on this team this year. She was someone who came off the bench for us and gave us tremendous production and a tremendous spark.”
So far this season, the Bruins have already had to endure the experience of losing a player to injury. Hardy, one of the Bruins’ best defenders, injured her right LCL during the Bruins’ 3-1 victory over Cal State Northridge on Sept. 16. However, the injury did not slow down the Bruins much, as they amassed a record of 6-0-1 and allowed only four goals in her absence. Ellis is looking for a similar type of rebound from her team.
“I think that we are at the point where any player that steps on the field for us or any player sitting on the bench has to be ready to go,” Ellis said. “And we work on that in training. Here is where we get them focused and sharp. But at this point in the season, it really comes down to our players being hungry. Being hungry, not getting complacent, and really continuing trying to improve our level of play. I still say we can do more, I still say we can play better. Every player here, (what) we are expecting from them is to push everybody else.”
CHENEY CONTINUING HER LEGACY AT UCLA: It is fair to say that sophomore forward Lauren Cheney is not experiencing any sort of drop-offs in production in her second year with the Bruins. So far this season, Cheney has scored a team- and conference-best 17 goals, including six game-winners, and tallied seven assists. Even more impressive, she has netted six goals in the Bruins’ last four games and has notched either a goal or assist in 12 of 15 games this year. Additionally, Cheney leads the nation with 1.41 goals per game average.
“Cheney is out and out a terrific finisher,” Ellis said. “She’s one of the best in the game and she’s tough to stop. She’s technical. She’s got good size. Great work rate. So, I mean all those components make her a tough player to mark. But also I think Lauren would be the first to say that the service she is getting from her teammates is a big part of her (success).
“She’s got great players around her. … We just want to keep feeding her the ball and getting her in good spots to score goals for us.”