Spring Break
Out of the Wood
Senior goalie Ashley Wood ready to return to field after ACL surgery
Terry Horstman
Issue date: 5/9/08 Section: Sports
"We've been knocking on the door for the NCAA tournament," Wood said. "Once we do that, I think we'll get some more recognition."
Such recognition is well-deserved for a player with a tremendous amount of potential going through a tremendous setback.
"She has good athleticism, great leaping ability; she covers a lot of ground," Rhode said. "Sometimes you see a shot and say that's going in for sure, and then Ashley comes out of nowhere and saves it."
Even the injury has not stopped Wood from having a positive influence on the team. "She can be very influential," Rhode said. "She's a senior player who's been here a long time. She has a lot of experience in the Pac-10 and has the ability to educate our younger players on what needs to be done."
It would be a tremendous boost for the team if Wood indeed returns to her 2007 form, not only because this team has been close to its goal of the NCAA tournament for the last few years but also because the Pac-10 is one of the deeper conferences in the country for women's soccer. Also, without a lot of returning starters, the margin for error is scarce if even existent. However that's not going to stop Ashley Wood from being optimistic.
"We have 10 newcomers in with only 15 returning, so we just need to make sure we gel really good and build up the defense, then just go from there and score a lot of goals," Wood said.
This is the kind of optimism that's not often seen by athletes who suffer season-ending injuries. The thought is that an athlete with a positive mental attitude toward an injury has a much better chance at recovering physically from the injury.
Recovering from ACL surgery is tough, but it can happen; and come next fall, Beaver Nation will no doubt be eagerly awaiting to see if perhaps one of the better comeback stories in the program is to unfold right before them.
Terry Horstman, sports writer
sports@dailybarometer.com
Such recognition is well-deserved for a player with a tremendous amount of potential going through a tremendous setback.
"She has good athleticism, great leaping ability; she covers a lot of ground," Rhode said. "Sometimes you see a shot and say that's going in for sure, and then Ashley comes out of nowhere and saves it."
Even the injury has not stopped Wood from having a positive influence on the team. "She can be very influential," Rhode said. "She's a senior player who's been here a long time. She has a lot of experience in the Pac-10 and has the ability to educate our younger players on what needs to be done."
It would be a tremendous boost for the team if Wood indeed returns to her 2007 form, not only because this team has been close to its goal of the NCAA tournament for the last few years but also because the Pac-10 is one of the deeper conferences in the country for women's soccer. Also, without a lot of returning starters, the margin for error is scarce if even existent. However that's not going to stop Ashley Wood from being optimistic.
"We have 10 newcomers in with only 15 returning, so we just need to make sure we gel really good and build up the defense, then just go from there and score a lot of goals," Wood said.
This is the kind of optimism that's not often seen by athletes who suffer season-ending injuries. The thought is that an athlete with a positive mental attitude toward an injury has a much better chance at recovering physically from the injury.
Recovering from ACL surgery is tough, but it can happen; and come next fall, Beaver Nation will no doubt be eagerly awaiting to see if perhaps one of the better comeback stories in the program is to unfold right before them.
Terry Horstman, sports writer
sports@dailybarometer.com
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