It wasn’t supposed to end this way. Senior Day for the Wake Forest Demon Deacons, and Katie Stengel wasn’t in uniform.
Her season and her collegiate career had come to an end a week earlier when a medical exam revealed a deep vein thrombosis in her left leg.
The condition caused blood clots, which had caused the pain that prompted her to seek medical attention on Oct. 5 after the team came off a road trip to Notre Dame.
She first noticed the pain after playing a game on artificial turf at Boston College on Sept. 26. It was a little worse three days later at Syracuse. Then the trip to and from South Bend, IN.
The treatment was rest and blood thinners for at least three months. She’ll recover in time, and will play soccer again. Jus[show_disconnected][show_to accesslevel=’Subscriber’]t not in college and not for the Demon Deacons.
Stengel was quoted as saying,” it’s a tough thing,” by the Winston-Salem Journal, after senior recognition day.
“I do want to play professionally after I graduate, and that’s still a goal for me. This has been tough, but I just want to continue to stay with the team and support them while I’m out.”
Officially, WFU has announced that she is out indefinitely. Just how long? One must go with the time line for taking the blood thinners.
There is really no time for Stengel to make a comeback this season, with the regular season winding down. NCAA postseason play will begin in mid-November with the College Cup championship at WakeMed Park in Cary, NC. Not enough days on the calendar to recover by then.
While it is a crushing disappointment for the senior forward from Melbourne, Fla, it is a loss to the Demon Deacon offense which can not be replaced by an other player.
She is WFU’s all-time career scoring leader with 50 goals and 124 points. She is this year’s scoring leader with six goals, eight assists and 20 points.
“With the blood-thinning medicine she’s taking, the doctors want the blood clots totally out of her system, and then she’ll be able to play soccer again,” said Wake head coach Tony da Luz.
“We want her to get better and to get completely healthy. That’s what concerns us the most.”
The Deacons lost 2-0 to #1 ranked Virginia on Senior Day. Without Stengel, and another senior forward Rachel Nuzzolese, who is out with a torn ACL, two big offensive weapons are on the sidelines.
DVT can have any number of causes. No determination has been made regarding Stengel’s condition, but it wasn’t a fitness thing.
It is interesting to note that one factor that has been said to contribute to some DVT conditions is long trips in which the individual does not move around for a long period of time. Howver, that doesn’t mean that was the case with Stengel.
“It was hard looking back,” Stengel told a espnW writer who also spoke with her on Senior Day. “Realizing that it’s all over, and I just have to look back on my college career and appreciate the memorial and support the team going forward.”
Ironically, the coach of the Virginia Cavaliers, Steve Swanson, was Stengel’s coach on the United States Under-20 national team.
“If you know Katie Stengel, you know that she loves soccer,” Swanson said. “You just feel for her.”
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