When it comes to soccer, Lucretia Lee has good genes and bad knees.
With a retired NFL cornerback for a dad and a former Washington goalkeeper for a mom, the sophomore defender on the UCLA women’s soccer team was born to be an athlete.
But after undergoing knee surgery twice in high school, it was more than natural athleticism that gave Lee the courage to return to the field.
“I couldn’t see myself never playing,” Lee said. “What else would I be doing? It was just the love for the game that kept me going.”
Born in Bellevue, Wash., but raised in Seattle, Lee tried every sport in the book, from gymnastics to track to basketball before settling on soccer. Although her mom and older sister played soccer, Lee believes they did not influence her decision to retire the leotard in favor of shin guards and cleats.
“Maybe that had something to do with it, but all I knew was that I had the most fun playing soccer,” she said. “I just dropped the other (sports) to focus on what I wanted to do the most.”
Quick, agile and strong, Lee breezed past the rest of the players on the field until her junior year in high school when injury mercilessly came knocking. After tearing the ACL in her right knee twice in two years while playing soccer, Lee considered quitting the sport permanently. Faced with the prospect of not playing soccer for a year, Lee was scared but optimistic when she first injured her knee.
“My sister tore her meniscus and ACL on both knees and I watched her go through that, so it was a little scary when it happened to me the first time,” she said. “That is when I really decided that I was going to do only soccer, and I cut out track because it was getting to be overwhelming.”
But shortly after her return to the soccer field, Lee found herself back in a knee brace.
“That is when I had my breakdown and really had to decide if I still wanted to go through all the rehab again,” she said. “I couldn’t even imagine walking at that point.”
It was a devastating turn of events for Lee, who committed to UCLA shortly before tearing her ACL a second time. However, a chance to play for a winning collegiate team and to escape the dreary Seattle weather was too much to let go.
“I really wanted to go somewhere warm, because when it gets cold my knees get stiff, and I really didn’t want to deal with that,” Lee said. “And I was sick of the rain.”
The transition from the relaxed, high-school atmosphere to the intensity of college was difficult both in terms of academics and athletics. A two-year break from soccer had left the center back de-conditioned and uncertain of her skill.
“The first thing that comes to mind about Lucretia is how far she has come in the year,” UCLA coach Jillian Ellis said. “Coming off of a torn ACL, she wasn’t as fit as she needed to be, and now she is playing 90 minutes a game. I think her mentality has gotten a lot better in that respect.”
With a significant increase in playing time compared to last year, Lee has let experience rebuild her confidence, especially in terms of her ability as a defender.
“Defending is difficult because there are so many little details that you have to remember, like the shape of the backline that I never knew,” she said. “It’s more complex in college, and you need (to) get it down or you are going to get scored on. Now, I think I’m getting the hang of it, and everything is falling into place.”
Aside from the occasional difficulty making sharp turns, it is easy for Lee to ignore the scars on her right knee and forget the reason she considered quitting soccer. With her fitness and speed back to their optimal levels, the sophomore defender has regained her greatest asset as a player.
“She is so fast and an awesome defender because if something goes by her, she will make up for it and is able to get back to cover,” said close friend and teammate Ahsha Smith, who has known Lee since both were 13 years old.
Having played limited minutes in all five of last year’s playoff games, Lee is excited for the expanded role she has had so far in this year’s NCAA Tournament. Looking forward to today’s game against Stanford with a mixture of anxiety and eagerness, Lee welcomes the lowered expectations of her team this season.
“Right now we are considered the underdogs, so we have nothing to lose,” she said. “Knowing that, we can relax more and just play our game. Go out hard and just take a national championship from someone else. I think that we can really do it this year.”