Out of the Wood

Senior goalie Ashley Wood ready to return to field after ACL surgery

By: Terry Horstman

Posted: 5/9/08

It can happen in the blink of an eye - less than a second, really. One awkward cut is all it takes for the ACL - the anterior cruciate ligament - of the knee to tear. This second can lead to months of rehab and a chance that the knee might never be the same again. Many athletes have gone down this long, tough road over the years, but none quite like Oregon State women's soccer goalkeeper Ashley Wood.

"She's a strong believer in hard work," said Oregon State women's soccer head coach Linus Rhode. "No matter who you are, you need to give 110 percent."

Rhode, who was just recently appointed as the new head coach for OSU women's soccer, has noticed something special in Wood ever since the first game she played in for Oregon State - a game that was played against the U.S. Under-20 national team.

"Her bravery and her character, she just rolled her sleeves up and got after it. That to me is what really sums up Ashley Wood," Coach Rhode said.

A debut not too surprising for local fans, Wood played her high school soccer at Corvallis High School and led the Spartans to two Mid-Willamette league titles, made first team all-league as a senior, and took the Spartans to the state quarterfinals in 2003.

Wood's impressive resume as a goalkeeper appeared to keep getting better and better as she was named the starter for the 2007 season. The Beaver women were able to post a great non-conference record of 7-3-1, while Wood didn't allow a goal in five of the seven wins. After the final non-conference game there was great reason to believe that it would be another successful season for women's soccer. Wood posted a career-high eight saves against a highly respectable Gonzaga team.

Wood looked to build upon her career performance as the Beaver women faced off against top-ranked UCLA to open conference play. But Wood tore her ACL exactly one day before taking on the No. 1 team in the country.

"It was tough because I felt like I was just starting to do good and figure it out," Wood said.

The team suffered as much pain as Wood's knee did. In her absence, the team went winless in conference play with one tie coming against Oregon.

However, the past is the past, and ACL or no ACL, Wood is looking to build on the positives this team has already put together in her time so far at OSU.

"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